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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24493960">Crouching Tiger, Hidden Buck</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/shenko464/pseuds/shenko464'>shenko464</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV), Hawaii Five-0 (2010)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Assault, Athena Grant Being a Mom, BAMF Buck, Bisexual Eddie Diaz, Bisexual Evan "Buck" Buckley, Blood and Injury, Bottom Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Bottom Evan "Buck" Buckley, Buck may be slightly OOC, Explicit Consent, Explicit Sexual Content, Family Fluff, Firehouse 118 Family (9-1-1), First Kiss, Fluff and Smut, Grammarly is my best friend, Gun Violence, Gunshot Wounds, Hurt Eddie Diaz, Hurt Evan "Buck" Buckley, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Injured Evan "Buck" Buckley, Jealousy, M/M, Morning Sex, Mutual Pining, Protective Evan "Buck" Buckley, Slow Dancing, Top Eddie Diaz, Top Evan "Buck" Buckley, mentions of Eliot Spencer/Alec Hardison, mentions of side pairings - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 05:01:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>53,028</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24493960</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/shenko464/pseuds/shenko464</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone underestimates Buck, even the crazy drunk person who thinks it’s a good idea to get his gang to rob him and Eddie after the 118 goes to a gay bar to celebrate Hen’s birthday.</p><p>Steve was not ready to lose one of his teammates 11 years ago. Now, he may have to face losing another teammate, one who had so much going for him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evan "Buck" Buckley &amp; Steve McGarrett, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>239</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>696</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>9-1-1 Tales</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Bobby</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Y'all, I'm so obsessed with this Buddie ship that it's putting my other fics on the sidelines. </p><p>This will start off rated G till later chapters. </p><p>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a stressful day for everyone. </p><p>The first case happened not even past the first hour of the morning shift. </p><p>Bobby hadn’t even finished plating a perfectly done set of omelets before the fire alarm went off. Its clanging even shocked Hen, who almost stumbled back on the stairs. It was only by pure luck that Buck was behind her and managed to steady her with a hand at her elbow. </p><p>“Woah, easy there! I know I’m handsome but geez.” Buck teased Hen, who almost smacked him across the head for that snarky comment. </p><p>“Boy, no jokes till I had my first cup of coffee.” </p><p>“No time for that, Hen. Gotta a call about a lady getting T-boned. Need to hurry it up, folks!” Bobby’s tone was firm and brooked no argument.</p><p>The entire 118 took only 3 minutes to get pile into their respective vehicles and it wouldn’t be till several hours later that the they would return, sullen and shaken by the consequences of a driver not paying attention to the pedestrian and getting into a collision with another car. </p><p>Hen and Chimney both went upstairs and holed themselves up in a small corner by the railing. </p><p>Buck just sat quietly in the gym, trying to debate if he wanted to lift weights or pound the living daylights out of the sandbag that hung from the top of the steel beam. By the time he came to a decision, Eddie had taken up residence by the sandbag. However, as Eddie focused on the sandbag in front of him and put out targeted punches, Buck felt content in just staying where he was.</p><p>Having a front-row seat to those flexing arms and that perfectly chiseled face was something Buck would never tire of getting. </p><p>“Like what you see, Buck?” A voice whispered behind him.</p><p>It wasn’t Eddie who’d spoken but Bobby. </p><p>The Captain, as tall as he was, snuck up on Buck, who jumped a little bit and his hand flung to his chest. Luckily, Eddie hadn’t seen his reaction and Buck calmed down enough for his thoughts to straighten out.</p><p>“Oh, hey, Cap! I didn’t-I didn’t see you there.” Buck’s voice stammered and it elicited a knowing smile from Bobby. </p><p>The Captain observed from the first day he paired these two men together that Buck developed a crush on Eddie. </p><p>At first, Bobby perceived it to be akin to a high school crush – infatuation. Intense but short-lived. </p><p>When that crush slowly developed over the months and then into this year, well, Bobby had to reevaluate Buck’s responses to Eddie. </p><p>The small shoulder brushes, how Buck’s gazes lingered far longer than what was deemed appropriate as ‘friendly’ between men. Hell, even the extent of how Buck would help Eddie out with his needs, like Christopher and helping out Eddie’s Abuela and Tia Pepa out with random house chores. </p><p>Buck was like a son to Bobby and the Captain dreaded the day he’d have to talk to Buck about Eddie possibly not swinging that way. The blonde was so emotive and intense in ensuring that his friends were taken care of. It was almost frightening to Bobby to imagine how Buck would feel if Buck’s yearning was unrequited. </p><p>Then, Bobby saw the quiet moments of when it was Eddie who initiated the touches, whether it be a comforting hand on the shoulder after a tough call or sitting right next to Buck, not caring about the propriety of distancing between straight men.</p><p>What gave Bobby the ‘aha’ moment that both were stupidly pining after each other was the end-of-summer party at his and Athena’s house.</p><p>Bobby had cleared away the yard and he was well-aware of the spot that Buck had collapsed on. The blood was scrubbed away and a generous amount of ammonia was poured into the spot to get rid of the smell and the color. </p><p>9 months later, the grass grew back as green as ever, as if there hadn’t been a person who was suffering a pulmonary embolism and was coughing up blood in buckets. And people were dancing in the yard, each person in a variety of states – drinking, laughing, swaying their hips to the music. </p><p>He’d been talking to Eddie at one point during the party, subtly giving hints that whatever holds Buck’s interest was deserving of that boy’s attention – complete and utter focus.</p><p>When Hen’s wolf whistle drew both of their attention to the dancing Buck and Christopher, both of them awkwardly flinging their limbs around and being cute about it, Bobby espied something pass over Eddie’s face. </p><p>It was a look of longing. Of love. </p><p>Sure, the look could have been misconstrued for just seeing Christopher trying his best to shuffle along to the music. </p><p>However, the admiration stayed for longer, well after Christopher was dragged away by a giggling Denny and his friends. Those brown eyes tracked Buck as the very tall firefighter would bend down to hug the ladies and joked around with Maddie and Chimney. </p><p>Until Buck caught sight of the two of them and Eddie blushed a little, as if embarrassed by getting caught ogling at his best friend. </p><p>Oh yeah, these two idiots were in love with each other. </p><p>And that was a few months ago.</p><p>Now, it seemed as if they were dancing around with each other. Buck would say something that was a flirtatious comment to Eddie. And Eddie would try to say something only for the call to come up. Sometimes, Eddie would let Buck well into his personal space but then Buck wouldn’t say anything.</p><p>Athena must have caught unto the whirlwind of a flirting disaster between his two youngest firefighters for she came up with a plan with Hen – invite everyone to a gay dancing bar for Hen’s birthday. </p><p>And it sounded like a perfect plan to have these two pining idiots get their heads together. Almost too perfect. What could go wrong, right?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Eddie</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Eddie thought he knew everything there is to know about Buck. </p>
<p>As he approaches the bar, only 1 fact echoes in his head:</p>
<p>Buck is bi.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Geez, this took me longer than necessary, probably due to the whole controversy with the Eddie diaz actor. </p>
<p>I'm praying that everyone involved in that retains a cool head and that things work out for the best for our Buck. He deserves someone who loves him after the crap he's been through in the show. I'd prefer it to be Eddie Diaz but who knows now.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hey, Christopher, what do you think?”</p>
<p>Eddie twirled around in front of his son, loving how smooth his shoes twisted on the tile floor of their kitchen.</p>
<p>The light was the best as it was soft and yellow. It matched closely to the typical soft glow of a bar, its purpose being to place its occupants in a relaxed state.</p>
<p>Christopher’s eyes widened into huge pools of gray saucers. He almost dropped the book he was reading and leaned forward on the bed.</p>
<p>“Wow! But dad, what about that orange shirt?”</p>
<p>“Orange?”</p>
<p>Eddie was confused. He didn’t own an orange top. Unless you count pj’s and bar attire doesn’t include bedroom clothes. Not unless you want weirdos hitting on you. </p>
<p>“Buck bought that orange shirt for you. Remember?”</p>
<p>“Oh, uh,” Shit. How the heck does Christopher still remember that? That was like six months ago…back in December.</p>
<p>“You haven’t worn it yet, papa. Do you hate it?”</p>
<p>“No, no, Christopher.” Eddie bent down to be at eye-level to Christopher. He didn’t want his son to get a crick in his neck from having to look up at him. </p>
<p>Christopher’s gray eyes gazed into his and his son smiled at him, tapping his small hand against Eddie’s chest.</p>
<p>“Wear it, daddy. This is a special occasion.”</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh, Dios. </em>
</p>
<p>And so Eddie followed through on his son’s advice.</p>
<p>As he put on the orange shirt over his white undershirt, he’d forgotten how good the orange color looked on him. The warm tone brought out his eyes, making them turn smokier than usual. He hoped Buck noticed that he’s wearing the gift he got from him for Christmas. </p>
<p>Then he realized just how well the shirt fitted. The sleeves were short enough for him to comfortably button the cuffs around his wrists. His chest and back had enough room to breathe into but still be outlined handsomely. How had Buck known the exact measurements of Eddie without directly asking him for them? Maybe it was Abuela who told him or possibly Pepa? They were the only ladies in his family who knew about his close relationship with Buck. They also knew about his not so platonic feelings for Buck too. </p>
<p>“Buck would love that, papa!"</p>
<p>Eddie blushed at the comment. How can kids be so damn perceptive at times?</p>
<p>His phone vibrated in his dress pants’ pocket and he slipped it out, almost dropping it in his haste to answer the call. </p>
<p>“Carla?”</p>
<p>“Honey, you might want to answer the door if you don’t wanna be late picking Buck up.” He could hear the amusement in his friend’s voice and Eddie smiled. Another piece of evidence of just how much care Buck had in ensuring his and Christopher’s needs were met.</p>
<p>“On my way, Carla.”</p>
<p>He gave the call a few seconds to make sure she was done talking before hanging up on her. </p>
<p>“You ready, kiddo?” </p>
<p>“Let’s do this,” Christopher said and Eddie kissed his son on the temple.<br/>
Christopher got his crutches on without his help and managed to make his way into the living room. Once he settled on the couch, Eddie let Carla in, who shouted at Christopher with such jubilee that it made Christopher jump in his seat.</p>
<p>“Christopher! How ya been? I missed you so much since you started school!”</p>
<p>The big lady wrapped the poor boy into a huge hug.</p>
<p>“Ms. Carla!” Christopher’s face brightened up, his gray eyes alit with genuine warmth.<br/>
Eddie knew he was lingering too long when Carla fixed him in his place with her dark eyes, an eyebrow raised in a question. </p>
<p>“Shouldn’t you be gone now? Get that boy before he goes stir-crazy waiting on you.”<br/>
Not even waiting for a reply, she turned her attention to Christopher and let his son show her what he got from Buck for his birthday.</p>
<p>It only took 15 minutes for Eddie to buckle up, drive and arrive at Buck’s expensive loft.</p>
<p>As he pulled into the driveway, all of a sudden, butterflies seemed to flutter into his stomach. His heart beat a little bit faster and sweat began to gather in the palm of his hands. </p>
<p>
  <em>Oh, mierda. </em>
</p>
<p>He was getting nervous. About picking up Buck and going to a gay bar.<br/>
It felt like a date, only it wasn’t. </p>
<p>Does going out with your best friend on a work outing count as a date? Even if everyone from the 118 was going to be there?</p>
<p>He knew what Bobby would say, of course. </p>
<p>
  <em>Buck’s car is currently in the shop for a recall. He might need to be picked up and you’re the closest to him out of all of us. </em>
</p>
<p>Which wasn’t entirely true. </p>
<p>Maddie’s apartment was only 10 minutes away. </p>
<p>However, Maddie was also staying with Chimney, who practically lived on the other side of the freeway. The Korean paramedic’s home was at least 20 minutes away and that was without traffic. </p>
<p>A soft rap on his car window jolted Eddie. </p>
<p>He hadn’t realized he was parked in Buck’s driveway for a good 5 minutes until Buck was peering at him curiously through the window.</p>
<p>He made a gesture with his hand and Buck went to the other side, opening the door and flopping down into the passenger seat. The energy Buck brings is akin to a dog’s – happy, go-lucky, and just so darn glad to be with other people. Hen’s remark about Buck being like a ‘golden retriever’ was spot on. </p>
<p>Buck was handsome and loyal. This long-legged sex on a stick was so loyal that Eddie’s heart twisted a little on the inside. Eddie hadn’t been that loyal to Buck. The lawsuit was proof of that. It was proof that Buck could be easily hurt where there were no visible scars. The entire 118 was guilty of that and it’d taken a month to get the team back into the groove of things. </p>
<p>“Oh, wow,” Buck’s voice was breathless, sounding as if the younger man had just run a mile before settling in his truck. Eddie felt bashful when he saw the open admiration on Buck’s face and it was Eddie’s turn to be taken aback by what Buck was wearing. </p>
<p>The turquoise polo shirt looked ridiculously good on Buck. It hugged the shoulders just right and made his blue eyes pop even more. His washed-out denim should have made his skin whiter than usual. Instead, it went well with the blue top and the blue eyes. </p>
<p>Everything was blue and Eddie decided that blue was his new favorite color.</p>
<p>“You look good,” Buck said and Eddie couldn’t help but watch Buck’s tongue slip out and dampen the pink lips. </p>
<p>Oh. </p>
<p>He wished his tongue was doing that. </p>
<p>“Looking pretty handsome yourself, Buck. Blue, blue looks really good on you.”</p>
<p>The praise had Buck give Eddie a small smile. It wasn’t the huge beaming one Buck normally gives to other people when the blonde was praised about. It was a soft type that only Eddie saw when it was just him and Buck. </p>
<p>He needs to call it the Eddie smile. He really should. </p>
<p>He would have kept staring at Buck were it not for Buck’s phone buzzing. </p>
<p>As if with great reluctance, Buck’s eyes shifted from his and went to the Samsung galaxy that kept vibrating in the man’s jeans. </p>
<p>“Hey, Cap,” Buck said over the phone. “Yeah, I know where the bar is. We’ll be there in 20 minutes if traffic is clear.”</p>
<p>The time on Eddie’s dashboard read ‘8:30 pm’</p>
<p>It was a Wednesday night and so traffic should be clear at least. Most LA residents would be at home, getting ready for the next day.</p>
<p>Unless you had a schedule that wasn’t part of the 9-5 grind. </p>
<p>The drive was spent in comfortable silence. As much of a talker Buck was, he was uncharacteristically quiet on the way there. Eddie couldn’t tell if his nervousness was affecting Buck’s behavior or not. </p>
<p>They arrived at the bar and Eddie then had a possible idea of why Buck was initially so silent. </p>
<p>The flat sign of ‘Abbey’s Food &amp; Bar’ glowed in bright yellow letters. There was a long line of people, mostly middle-aged and who had no trouble socializing. </p>
<p>“It’s a gay bar,” Buck said and Eddie could have sworn that his ears were pink with embarrassment. Was Buck worried that he might be against going to a venue like this? If so, Eddie wanted to reassure his best friend that nothing could faze him.</p>
<p>“Buck,” Eddie laid a hand on the small of Buck’s back, relishing on the heat that radiated from his friend and through the polo shirt. “It’s cool, man. I’m good.”</p>
<p>Buck’s shoulders then visibly relaxed and Eddie was pleased with himself that Buck’s affable personality was finally coming back. However, he came to regret it not a minute later when a couple of guys saw Buck and then waved almost enthusiastically at him. </p>
<p>“Buck! Oh my god, I told you he was gonna be here, Greg,” the shorter man said to his partner. </p>
<p>“Alright, alright,” Greg answered. </p>
<p>Eddie tensed a little bit at the easy way the two males greeted Buck. A firm embrace from Greg and a soft peck on the cheeks from ‘Ethan’ had jealousy rear up her ugly head. </p>
<p>“It’s a couples’ night out and Ethan made me bet that you were to going show up. Thanks for having me do dishes for the next week.”</p>
<p>Buck snickered and shook his head at the pouting Greg. The childish look on the tall African-American was out of place on that serious-looking face. </p>
<p>“So, this must be Eddie, eh?” Eddie didn’t like the appraising glance Ethan threw at him. He especially hated Greg’s gaze – intimidating and trying to find a weakness. </p>
<p>Buck seemed to ignore Eddie’s discomfort of two strangers knowing his name as the blonde introduced Eddie to his friends. </p>
<p>“These guys and I have been friends since I moved to LA,” Buck unhelpfully said.<br/>
As the blonde raved on and on about how he was introduced to Ethan via a blind date and then introduced Ethan to Greg and how Greg and Ethan helped him settle into LA, Eddie only got one idea reverberating through his head.</p>
<p>Buck is bi.</p>
<p>Fuck, how did he not know this? He was supposed to be Buck’s best friend. So why didn’t Buck tell him he was bisexual?</p>
<p>He was about to ask Buck this exact question when someone else called out to him.<br/>
“Buck! Eddie! We’re inside! Got a room reserved for us.” Karen waved her hands at them and was having difficulty trying to get through the crowd. </p>
<p>Buck waved back and he gave Greg and Ethan a farewell one-handed embrace before not so surreptitiously taking Eddie’s hand and leading Eddie through the lines. </p>
<p>Eddie was well-aware of heads turning, male and female, to regard Buck and he clutched at Buck’s hand, almost squeezing it. He hadn’t meant to hold unto Buck’s hand. He’d no idea why Buck even took his in the first place. Maybe it was Buck’s way of keeping Eddie afloat in an environment that he’s unfamiliar with.</p>
<p>Letting go of Buck’s hand left a twinge of regret as they approached the reserved room, in the back of the bar. It was the quietest and the most isolated to give the occupants a sense of privacy in an area where privacy wasn’t an option. </p>
<p>“Happy birthday, Hen!!” Buck yelled out in an outrageous tone. It was bombastic and so Buck. </p>
<p>Hen screeched out ‘Eddie! Buck!’ to them and her arms swallowed both men in a huge hug before letting them go.  </p>
<p>The slight giddy look in Hen’s brown eyes indicated that the birthday lady had at least one shot in. </p>
<p>“Oh man, did we miss the birthday shot already?!” Buck pouted. The childish expression on a grown man’s face prompted a round of laughter. </p>
<p>Bobby and Athena had come around to greet the newly arrived pair. Maddie and Chimney were strangely absent from the group until Karen mentioned to Buck that the two were trying to get a round of drinks for everyone. </p>
<p>“Ok, I’ll go and see what I can do. Maybe Rob can help us out faster with me there.”<br/>
“Rob? Who’s Rob?” Eddie was learning a lot of new things about Buck. First, the two gentlemen who were too familiar with Buck. And now this Rob person.</p>
<p>“Rob, he’s the bartender working tonight. He gets me free drinks every time I come here.”</p>
<p>And Eddie sorely needed a shot of whatever Hen had.</p>
<p>However, he was sober and his thoughts raced through his head at a mile per minute.<br/>
First, Greg and Ethan. And now this Rob. This night was going to be the roughest night ever and that full bottle of lube laying in the nightstand will most likely be used in another lonely session.</p>
<p>He watched Buck exit out of the door and disappear into the throng of bodies that milled about in the main foyer.</p>
<p>“So, I saw you two holding hands,” Athena pointed out and she pinned Eddie with a ‘don’t lie to me’ look.</p>
<p>Eddie felt very much like a deer in headlights and he froze, unsure of how to answer Athena’s unasked question. </p>
<p>“When are you going to tell him?”</p>
<p>“Tell him what?” Oh god, that was a stupid question. Athena thought it too when she quirked an eyebrow and her lips thinned. </p>
<p>“If you were my actual son, I’d slap you across the head,” Athena said and her smile brightened so much it looked like her face was going to crack.</p>
<p>Suddenly, Eddie could sense someone standing behind him and the subtle smell of sandalwood drifted into his nose. </p>
<p>Oh fuck. </p>
<p>He wondered how much of that conversation Buck heard. If God was good to him, maybe none of it. </p>
<p>The curious way Buck gazed at him, however, hinted that Buck had heard tidbits of the conversation or at least caught onto the way Athena was jibbing at him.</p>
<p>Maddie and Chimney’s declarations of drinks on the house, thanks to Buck’s flirts with Rob, were thankful distractions and Buck joined in the festivities, either truly ignorant of what went down between him and Athena. Or possibly choosing to leave it on the side for a future conversation. Eddie’s not sure which was worse.<br/>
Three shots later, Eddie’s thoughts felt loose and so were his fears of letting Buck know how he feels.</p>
<p>He was painfully aware that while everyone else was drunk off their butts, Buck was the only one standing on two feet without hanging onto someone. He was also the only one not dancing while the rest of the 118 was. </p>
<p>Heck, even Athena and Bobby were shuffling along, their bodies swaying to the music as if they’d been dancing all their lives instead of the 2 years they’d known each other. </p>
<p>Eddie knew he was a great dancer. Before the Army, before Shannon, he’d danced professionally and was en route to a prestigious dancing academy in New York. The only ones who stopped him were his parents. </p>
<p>Can’t raise a family on a starving artist’s salary. </p>
<p>That was their fucking reason and he let it stop his dreams. </p>
<p>Now, however, as his hips moved with the heavy bass, as his arms swayed around him, Eddie let loose his dancing skills, knowing that if Buck was truly attracted to him, the blonde would make a move. </p>
<p>He’d just hadn’t anticipated what came next. </p>
<p>Another body, male and unfamiliar, had sidled up next to him. </p>
<p>The unknown man breathed on his neck and Eddie’s stomach turned at the smell of tequila. </p>
<p>The guy dared to place his hands on Eddie’s hips and Eddie was sorely tempted to elbow the stranger in the solar plexus. </p>
<p>Getting arrested for assault, on the other hand, was not part of his plan to have fun and fun with Buck. </p>
<p>Thus, Eddie opted to dance away from the man, edging closer to where Buck was standing. </p>
<p>If Eddie was a little bit sober, he’d be more concerned at the way the blonde had positioned himself – feet slightly apart to allow for maximum agility and nostrils flared. Crystal blue eyes darkened under the weak yellow light of the lamp that hovered above Buck.</p>
<p>Buck looked like a bull ready to charge and Eddie’s groin tightened at the anticipation of feeling those hard muscles underneath his palms. Fucking finally.</p>
<p>The stranger was stupidly persistent. He had no clue of the danger that he was about to be in.</p>
<p>Finally getting tired of the man not leaving him alone, Eddie shoved him away, only to have the man grab his wrist in a deceptively strong grip.</p>
<p>“C’mon, handsome. You don’t…you don’t wanna dance with me?” The man was pretty. Eddie had to give him that. Blonde hair framed a square-jaw and stormy grey eyes peered at him in a drunken haze.</p>
<p>“Get off, fucker. I’m not interested,” Eddie hissed and the danger sobered him up fast. The haze of the alcohol fizzled as the adrenaline kicked in. Eddie pressed on a specific pressure point on the elbow, causing the man to yelp out in pain. It loosened the stranger’s grip on his wrist and Eddie skillfully pulled out of it. </p>
<p>He quickly strode through the crowd and was successful in escaping the suffocating crowd. </p>
<p>It was too much.</p>
<p>The bass pounded along with his heart or maybe it was the other way around. Hard and fast and loud in his ears. The sweaty bodies crowded around the foyer, almost spilling out into the entrance. </p>
<p>He just needed fresh air.</p>
<p>He recalled Maddie saying in between the first two shots that the bar had a large patio in the back. Few people were standing outside due to the hot weather and the patio would be the perfect place to calm his inner turmoil. </p>
<p>He bent over the wooden siding of the gazebo, trying to take measured breaths.<br/>
The rest of the 118 was blissfully unaware of his struggle to keep the past from coalescing into the present. </p>
<p>For the first time, Eddie felt alone. Even Buck wasn’t here.</p>
<p>“Eddie?”</p>
<p>It was Buck. </p>
<p>Of course, Buck was always there and Eddie let out a quiet sob as the blonde placed a hand on his shoulder. Warm and heavy. It was exactly what Eddie needed to keep grounded in the present.</p>
<p>“I tried to get to you but it got crowded real quick,” Buck murmured to him as the younger man occupied the space to Eddie’s right. “That punk got to you.”</p>
<p>It wasn’t a question and Eddie almost forgot just how riveted Buck could get on the smallest of details, on the nuances of Eddie’s response to everything and anything.<br/>
“I can manage myself.” Eddie hadn’t gone through years of military training without learning something. Sure, a few shots of alcohol tilted him off balance but the jerk on the dance cut through the fog real quick. </p>
<p>“I know you can.” Buck teased and he bumped his left arm into Eddie’s right.</p>
<p>It was an innocent gesture but the brief skin-on-skin contact made Eddie shudder.<br/>
Buck had no right to sidle up close and touch him without expecting anything in return. He had no right to look at him in deep concern, with those bright blue eyes and pink lips. Lips that were full and begging to be kissed. </p>
<p>“Fuck it,” Eddie whispered. </p>
<p>He was tired of holding himself back after all these months of doing so. And he leaned in closer to Buck, till they locked lips together.</p>
<p>When Buck stiffened, Eddie quickly drew back, an apology ready on his tongue before Buck captured his lips with his own.</p>
<p>Soft and pillowy. With a hint of basil on his breath.</p>
<p>Buck’s lips were so unlike the rest of the blonde’s body and the contrast had Eddie moan out in relief. It made Eddie want to lose himself in Buck. </p>
<p>He turned Buck’s shoulders with his hands and cupped the back of his head before slanting his mouth over Buck’s. The angle allowed him to deepen the kiss and Eddie let out a groan at the first tangle of tongues. </p>
<p>“Fuck,” Buck moaned and Eddie felt hands at his hips, pulling him closer until only their shirts separated them.</p>
<p>Someone was sending out catcalls and wolf whistles but Eddie didn’t care. It was a gay bar, for fuck’s sake, and it was a couples’ night. </p>
<p>Holy fuck…</p>
<p>Did Hen plan this?</p>
<p>“Yes! Alright, everyone, pay up!”</p>
<p>At the shout, both Eddie and Buck jolted out of their heated embrace, looking every bit like a pair of teenagers getting caught snogging by a parent.</p>
<p>And there was the entire 118, with Hen and Athena high-fiving each other. Bobby shook his head in mock disappointment while Maddie screeched happily next to Chimney. </p>
<p>She gave Hen a small wad of cash before dashing to Buck and Eddie, throwing her tipsy self at the two men. </p>
<p>“I-I knew you two would get it together! I’m so happy for you, Buck!!” </p>
<p>Maddie kissed Buck on the cheek and she did the same with Eddie. She almost fell over the chair and Chimney threw out an arm to catch her. </p>
<p>“C’mon, Maddie,” Chimney sounded exasperated as he manhandled his girlfriend as gently as he could and without bumping into the surrounding chairs and table. “I think it’s best you drink water from now on, not long island iced teas.”</p>
<p>“Buuut they were so good!” Maddie pouted and Chimney laughed as he successfully pulled her away from the two blushing men.</p>
<p>“You guys were betting on us?” Buck sounded almost offended at that. “Maddie?!”</p>
<p>“Uh, yes?” Maddie giggled and flung an arm out, almost hitting Karen on the nose. “It took you guys this long.”</p>
<p>She waved her arm for emphasis on the ‘long.’</p>
<p>Chimney didn’t help when he raised Maddie’s other arm. “No, it took them <em>this </em> long.”</p>
<p>Their antics caused another round of raucous laughter to burst from the group and Eddie had to duck his head down, his cheeks flushing. </p>
<p>“Aww, you’re embarrassing our Eddie here,” Buck sounded so smug that Eddie wanted to slap it off that cute face. Or do other stuff to it which he will not say in front of their coworkers.</p>
<p>“Let’s go inside, folks,” Athena directed all of them further inside. “Where it’s cool and there’s music to dance to.”</p>
<p>And that was that. </p>
<p>The fear that the 118 would look down upon him getting with Buck was unfounded and Eddie should have known better. </p>
<p>He didn’t need the memories of the past to keep him company. The camaraderie of the Army unit he was in was nothing compared to this because he had Buck.<br/>
A few minutes later found Eddie slow dancing with Buck. </p>
<p>His arm wrapped around Buck’s right shoulder while his hand laid on Buck’s chest. </p>
<p>“So,” Eddie started, smiling at Buck, who still had that stupid grin plastered on his face.</p>
<p>“Yes,” Buck answered. </p>
<p>“You don’t even know the question, Buck.” </p>
<p>“Whatever it is, it’s always a ‘yes’ unless you want a ‘no.’ Then, well, we’ll work it out.”</p>
<p>The cockiness made Eddie want to tongue-fuck the idiot like crazy. He dragged his hands to where they cupped the strong jaw and he tugged at Buck until the taller man bent down a little bit. Buck was the first person Eddie had to look up to lock lips together and there was a small part in him that delighted at this. </p>
<p>Their breaths mingled and Eddie smirked against Buck’s lips as the blonde let out a small noise when Eddie’s hips rolled into his. </p>
<p>“Ok, home, now.” It was Eddie’s turn to be moaning softly and frustration tore through him at the sensation of Buck’s hand squeezing his ass check. He wanted to feel that strength somewhere else.</p>
<p>“Coming right behind ya,” Buck’s voice deepened and Eddie swallowed at the way those blue eyes turned dark and stormy.</p>
<p>Not trusting himself to say anything, he turned towards the exit of the restaurant, feeling confident that his best friend and now lover was right behind him. </p>
<p>He managed to get outside and heard someone say something but it was garbled. </p>
<p>He thought it was Buck behind him and thus dropped his guard, tilting his head to smile at the shadow behind him. </p>
<p>And then stars exploded in his vision followed by a sharp pain that lanced across his temple.</p>
<p>His body collided into the wall and Eddie’s breath escaped him in an explosive burst of air. Red painted his vision and he blinked furiously, trying to clear out the red haze to get a clear view of the assailant.</p>
<p>He couldn’t though. All he could see was blackness.</p>
<p>“Not so macho now, huh,” a voice spat out in the darkness. “teach him a lesson, boys.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So cliffhanger. I know, I know but it keeps you wanting more, right?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Buck</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>These stupid fuckers think they can touch Eddie and get away without any consequences?</p>
<p>Nothing pisses Buck off more than morons like them and, for the first time in his life, he doesn't mind hurting other people.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Man, this was a hard chapter to write and I'm not sure if I did the action scenes without it sounding like a script from an acting class.</p>
<p>But here it is! Buck kicking ass. </p>
<p>On a sidenote, Buck may be a little OOC, mainly because we don't know his background yet. </p>
<p>However, I'm a sucker for BAMF! Buck and we need more fics with him in it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>You’re a badass under pressure. You can have my back any day. </em>
</p>
<p>Those were the phrases that broke through the initial antagonistic relationship Buck had with the newest recruit.</p>
<p>Eddie hadn’t known of Buck’s passing the physical training with the Navy Seal. With flying colors no less. He hadn’t known that the only reason why Buck dropped out was because he didn’t want to become a killing machine. To shunt off those emotions away and then let his body go through the routine of hurting people.</p>
<p>When Eddie brought Christopher for a game night at Buck’s apartment, Buck had let slip that he could still take Eddie. The disbelief on the tanned face hurt Buck but he pushed the hurt down deep inside.</p>
<p>It was ok. </p>
<p>He was used to being underestimated and that was his advantage. </p>
<p>All throughout his teenage years, his parents ignored him in favor of curating successful business deals. They prioritized earning millions of dollars over taking care of their youngest. Maddie had moved out to college and married Doug by the time Buck went into high school. </p>
<p>Those four years of being by himself were the most difficult.</p>
<p>He struggled to be the best in school and in sports. He did anything and everything to earn the approval of his parents.</p>
<p>He earned a full ride to Brown University for civil engineering of all things.</p>
<p>In his spare time, he enjoyed taking stuff apart and putting it back together but in a better state.</p>
<p>However, they only regarded him during the holidays or when they needed to attend work functions as a family. They had to play the part of a good Christian family when they were dealing with enormous contracts. That was all Buck was good for. </p>
<p>His parents never really said anything about his major accomplishments. Instead, they gifted him money and gave him a trust fund to do whatever he wanted with it.<br/>
</p>
<p>He started to invest and thus was able to eke out a living on the interest alone, letting a generous chunk of it grow with the market.</p>
<p>His civil engineering degree was currently in a sock or underwear drawer somewhere, forgotten. If Eddie had found it, he’d most likely thought it was a forgery as Buck apparently couldn’t answer a simple math problem one time. Then again, Eddie is his best friend so maybe not. </p>
<p>His life was going well – college degree, working a 9 – 5 pm and earning a paycheck.</p>
<p>But it all felt empty. </p>
<p>He felt lonely, despite all the pretty things he had – fancy car, pretty girlfriend who was only there for the money. </p>
<p>Buck found an outlet for his loneliness and it was the only reason why he hadn’t gone off the ledge in his teenage years. </p>
<p>It wasn’t drugs or anything but something better. </p>
<p>You have much anger but no control. </p>
<p>He could still recall his sensei’s voice even after all these years of stumbling headfirst into a quaint shop that sold swords. </p>
<p>
  <em>Focus here before here. </em>
</p>
<p>The head before the heart</p>
<p>And it was hard to do so when he lost sight of Eddie again.</p>
<p>It was hard not to fall deep into the well of despair that almost overwhelmed him in his younger years. </p>
<p>Eddie seemed to disappear behind a wall of moving bodies and the strong odor of alcohol. There was an odd pull to the door where the exit was and Buck followed it.<br/>
</p>
<p>Blue eyes razed the outside frantically for any sight of a tall guy in an orange shirt.<br/>
</p>
<p>Then they hardened with anger and something else when Buck realized that it was the same dancing guy who was following Eddie to their car. </p>
<p>“Hey! Eddie!” He shouted out to warn his lover but it was a poor move. </p>
<p>Eddie did turn only to have his head snap back, the sound wrenching Buck’s heart out of his chest.</p>
<p>As Buck raced to the assault, three other figures piled around the blonde assailant. They grabbed Eddie and pulled him into one of the dark alleyways. </p>
<p>“…teach him a lesson, boys,” Buck heard the strange blonde man say in front of a dazed Eddie, and Buck didn’t hesitate to charge in there. </p>
<p>He didn’t hold back as he kicked the closest goon in the back of the knees before knocking him with a well-placed strike to the side of the neck.</p>
<p>“What the? Who the fuck are you?!!” The sleazy blonde yelled and he shouted an order to the remaining goons to get him. </p>
<p>The two idiots charged at him. One swung an arm at him with a knife in his hand while the other goon tried to flank Buck on his right side.</p>
<p>Buck easily sidestepped the arm and swiftly got behind the man. He wrapped his left arm around the man’s neck, squeezing it tight enough for his opponent to let go of the knife. </p>
<p>The weapon clattered harmlessly to the ground and Buck swung the body in front of him in time for the third man to lunge at him with another weapon, a butterfly knife. Deadly in the right hands if the owner knows how to use it. </p>
<p>Fortunately, the holder didn’t and Buck couldn’t help but laugh at the careless way the third man attempted to strike at him.</p>
<p>Hearing Eddie groan behind him cut short Buck’s laughter. Eddie sounded like he was hurt and Buck remembered that it was these fools who did it.</p>
<p>If Eddie had anger issues, Buck was like a volcano – simmering hot and ready to explode once past the boiling point. </p>
<p>He didn’t want to kill these idiots. That would be too good for them.</p>
<p>For the first time in Buck’s life, he wanted to beat the living daylights out of someone.</p>
<p>He did it by allowing the third goon, a young brunette, his hair looking a sickly brown in the weak lamplight, to plunge the knife into the man he still had in a vicious headlock. </p>
<p>A shrill scream burst through the hot air. </p>
<p>Athena would have heard that. </p>
<p>All Buck had to do was to put them down and wait for his friends to get here.</p>
<p>Then again, he didn’t want Maddie to see this ugly side of him. The side that only came out when he felt threatened or when his friends felt they were in danger.</p>
<p>It was probably why the universe had it for him. Probably put in a cosmic hit so it didn’t have to suffer from Buck’s wrath. If it did, then irreparable damage could be done.</p>
<p>The second goon, frustrated at being unable to touch Buck, took a step back only to twist in place, hoping to perhaps catch Buck off guard enough to land a successful flash.</p>
<p>Buck caught the arm and, using the man’s forward momentum, planted his hips into the other man’s chest only to fling him over.</p>
<p>A pained yelp escaped the thrown man only for the sound to be cutoff as Buck planted a knee into the side of the downed man’s neck and lashed out a tight fist to knock him unconscious. </p>
<p>2 down and 1 to go. </p>
<p>And that 1 was holding Eddie by the neck, while a gun barrel was pressed into the side of Eddie’s bloody head.</p>
<p>“So you think yourself a hotshot, huh?” Now, the gun was pointed out at him.<br/>
Buck’s heart raced and pounded against the ribs as if the organ was trying to tear itself away from its body and flop on the dirty gravel outside. </p>
<p>Eddie’s eyes were open but dazed. The side of his head was bloody, giving his visage almost a macabre parody version of that handsome face. </p>
<p>His body seemed to sag more heavily against the sleazebag. The thought of that hard body pressing into someone who hurt Eddie had Buck clench his jaw tightly. He wasn’t worried at all about the gun pointing at him. He’d made peace with himself a long time ago that he’d give his life for Eddie if he had to. </p>
<p>Shouts came up behind the assailant and a beautifully blessed voice called out to them, sharp and angry. </p>
<p>“Police! Get your hands up, now!”</p>
<p>The gunman jumped and his finger accidentally pulled the trigger. </p>
<p>The first retort of the gunshot was followed immediately by a second one, this time from behind the shooter. </p>
<p>The perp would have looked surprised had Athena’s gun not bore a hole in his head.</p>
<p>Eddie, having lost the only support he had, crumpled to the floor, along with the perp. </p>
<p>“Eddie! Eddie!”</p>
<p>Buck knelt at his lover’s friend, dragging him into his lap as gently as he could without making Eddie wince. </p>
<p>“B-Buck? Did you-?”</p>
<p>“Eddie? You’re ok,” Buck’s fingers raked through the blood-soaked hair. </p>
<p>Eddie’s ok. Eddie’s alive. I’m alive.</p>
<p>Eddie’s eyes became more alert and Buck sighed in relief when Eddie sat up in his arm, his hand shaking a little bit as it tried to reach Buck’s face. </p>
<p>“Where did they go?” Eddie was asking about his attackers and Buck leaned back, letting the scene answer the question. </p>
<p>It looked like Batman had crashed into the dark alleyway to save the two of them. </p>
<p>One of the perps was groaning in pain, his arm bent at an awkward angle, with the bone jutting out of the skin. The other one lay prone near the wall, limbs akimbo and a dark crimson spot on the man’s chest.</p>
<p>“Fuck…” Eddie’s throat moved as the older man swallowed, the words getting caught in his throat. But it was the emotions flickering through those brown eyes that caught Buck’s eyes the most. “You’re a badass. Remind me not to piss you off, again.”</p>
<p>Buck smiled and he hunched over Eddie, only to press his lips against him.</p>
<p>It was then, as Buck’s mind reassured itself that Eddie was fine, that his body decided to soak in all the totality of the ass-whooping. His high from the adrenaline rush crashed down and his side flared hotly at the brush of Eddie’s hand, which was curling innocently into his jacket.</p>
<p>A jacket that was damp and getting wetter by the second. </p>
<p>Eddie shot up in his hold, his brown eyes looking panicked and worried. Before Buck could stop him, Eddie grabbed the jacket and pulled it aside, only to reveal a deep crimson spot in his blue shirt. The color turned a sickly purple and the scent of copper wafted into the dry night air.</p>
<p>“Buck! You’re…you’re bleeding!”</p>
<p>“It’s, uh, nothing. You’re bleeding more,” Buck tried to say it in a teasing tone but it came out raspy and airy.</p>
<p>“Dios, we need to get you to a hospital!”</p>
<p>Buck found it comical that Eddie was struggling to help him up when the man could have had a concussion. Eddie could be falling over and hurt himself even more over Buck.</p>
<p>Voices could be heard over the thunder clapping in Buck’s ears and it was with a start that Buck noticed Athena being at his side. </p>
<p>Was she here this entire time?</p>
<p>He couldn’t recall. All he could see was Eddie standing almost limply in the dead man’s grasp. The cold glint of metal pushing against the red. </p>
<p>Someone was pulling his arm up and around a shoulder. With the height of the person, Buck surmised it could only be Bobby. The Captain was the next tallest out of all the 118 firefighters and first responders.</p>
<p>“I may have a slight concussion,” Eddie was saying, his smooth voice a balm to the chaos that raged in Buck’s head. “But Buck is injured.”</p>
<p>“Buck…” Bobby called out and Buck raised his head to greet the captain. </p>
<p>The movement caused his stomach to turn and he squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to find out if Bobby’s face would be upside down or not. </p>
<p>“Shit, I think he’s passing out,” Chimney’s voice was cool but there was a worrying vibe to his tone.<br/>
Buck tried to hold himself up so Bobby wouldn’t feel burdened carrying all 215 lbs of muscle. His legs, on the other hand, decided to take a vacation, and Buck was falling.<br/>
“…Buck, stay with us, kid. Stay awake.”</p>
<p>Blue eyes fluttered open and Bobby’s face swam into his field of vision.</p>
<p>“…Buck did all this? Dude’s a badass…” someone else was saying but Buck couldn’t find him. </p>
<p>“Ambulance is 5 minutes away,” Hen knelt next to his head and Buck tried to say ‘hi’ but his chest hurt. No, not hurt. It fucking burned and he drew in a breath only to realize that he couldn’t. </p>
<p>His arms flailed, trying to grab a hold of someone, anyone.</p>
<p>“Buck…what is it? What’s happening?” Bobby caught one of Buck’s hands and the man’s face stayed stoic, even when Buck squeezed it tightly.</p>
<p>He tried to open his mouth, to ask for Eddie, to see if he’s still there and not laying dead. His worst nightmare would be not to find Eddie mad and angry at him. It would be to find him cold and deathly still. Maybe Eddie had died in that well and Buck was just going through the motions of life to block off the grief. </p>
<p>“Evan, look at me.”</p>
<p>Strong fingers grasped his chin and tilted Buck’s head over to regard the only man who would call him by his first name. When Eddie used it for the first time, it was during one of Buck’s panic attacks right after rescuing a boy from a water slide. Now, Eddie was using it to ground Buck in this rocky sea of agony and hurt and pain. </p>
<p>“Con-concussion…” Buck managed to say and the word brought a look of confusion over Eddie’s face. Buck idly wondered how the blood had disappeared so quickly. Shouldn’t it be bleeding more like head wounds are prone too?</p>
<p>“You’re more important,” Eddie gripped his hand and Buck smiled. </p>
<p>The light hovering over Eddie was dimming until all he could see were the soft edges of that beautiful face. He couldn’t see the small freckle underneath Eddie’s left eye. </p>
<p>He couldn’t tell that Eddie’s lips were moving.</p>
<p>Then he couldn’t see anything at all and he let the exhaustion pull him deeper into the folds of unconsciousness.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ugh, I know. I know. </p>
<p>Please don't yell at me for leaving another cliffhanger but it was a great stopping point for me.</p>
<p>As always, I love everyone who reads and especially those who love a kudos and/or comment, which I try to respond as quickly as possible.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Athena</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Athena has been trained for these types of situations. A bar fight gone wrong with deadly weapons involved. </p>
<p>However, it was far different when a man perceived as your son is involved and Athena worries that Buck may be using up his nine lives quicker than she can keep up with.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I've never written an Athena's POV chappie before. So forgive me if she's OOC. </p>
<p>Other than that, I love your fabulous and encouraging comments as well as the kudos from everybody else. :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Athena and Hen hatched a plan to get their two boys together, they called it Operation: Idiots in Love. </p>
<p>They had a perfect plan – go to a gay bar and have fun. Have Bobby not so subtly tell Eddie that Buck needed a ride because his car was in the shop for repairs. Then, watch from afar as the two men dance together and do some stuff afterward. Given that she was on duty the next night as a favor for a colleague, Athena only allowed herself to drink one or two drinks. </p>
<p>And she was glad that she set herself a strict limit because everyone else hadn’t. </p>
<p>Everyone except Buck. </p>
<p>The tall firefighter, who she deemed as her adopted son for all intents and purposes, drank a glass of water after each shot. He was acting remarkably responsible as Eddie, the one who picked him up and drove him over to the bar, was already three shots of tequila in and stumbling a little bit. And it was Buck who would constantly hover nearby, ensuring that Eddie wouldn’t fall over or have his drinks be spiked.</p>
<p>Then there came a moment where she was certain that she was going to win the bet: have the two dance and hook up afterward. </p>
<p>It was a small moment. Nothing to get excited over, except maybe from the prospect of being owed $1000 at least. </p>
<p>The stage was set better than she expected. </p>
<p>upbeat music, low lights, and everyone else had partnered up more or less. </p>
<p>Except for a few stragglers.</p>
<p>Eddie chanced at going into there by himself and Athena mused that there was an alcoholic reason behind that. </p>
<p>From what she had heard and seen about Eddie, the man was about as private as you could get unless you were Buck.</p>
<p>Buck was the one who helped Eddie open about himself, mainly through the sheer will that the blonde had in ensuring that his needs were met. </p>
<p>
  <em>Like a damn boyfriend. </em>
</p>
<p>She must have said this out loud because Bobby placed an arm around her shoulders, nodding in agreement. They watched Eddie put on some moves from the dance floor and observed Buck’s flexing forearms as if the latter was tempted but wasn’t sure how to even take the first step towards Eddie. </p>
<p>“Maddie said she wants to change her day to tonight,” Bobby murmured in her ear and Athena snorted in mock derision. Her hips moved against his and she let out a soft sigh.</p>
<p>“She’s only doing that because she’s about to lose all that money.”</p>
<p>“So, that’s a no, then.” Bobby looked pleased with himself and Athena whacked him on the shoulder with her unoccupied hand. </p>
<p>“It’s an N-O.” </p>
<p>“Should we worry about that?”</p>
<p>“Worry about what? Changing the bet conditions? That’s unfair, especially if it’s because of Maddie.”</p>
<p>“No, him.” Bobby was staring hard at a spot to the left of Athena’s shoulder.</p>
<p>From their dancing spot, they could see another man dancing with Eddie and that Eddie did not like that at all. They watched with apprehension as Eddie instinctively danced further and further away from the stranger, in the direction of Buck. </p>
<p>“He’s a grown man,” Athena said but her voice was a little unsure. “Besides, Buck can take care of that. Look, he’s doing it now.”</p>
<p>She gestured to the disappearing back of Buck, the bright blue color fading into the mesh of dark hues of the bar. </p>
<p>“Hmm. I still don’t like the way that that man was going after Eddie. Might need to keep an eye on him.”</p>
<p>And Athena’s gut instinct was spot on. </p>
<p>Everything turned out alright after Buck followed Eddie and the group surprised them after their quiet kiss. Hen had screeched so loudly that even the other partygoers stretched their necks out to see what was going on outside. Once they realized that it was just two hot guys snogging each other, they went back to partying, not at all offended by the loudness of the 118. </p>
<p>She earned another $1000 that night and pocketed the cash in her wallet before turning her attention back to her husband. Maddie and Chimney were off to the side, with their heads bowed down and quietly snickering to each other. Both of them had glanced up once or twice, with Maddie pouting a little after a comment from Chimney. </p>
<p>She was probably upset about losing a bet. And she should since Buck was her baby brother and she should know almost everything there is to know about Buck. Which she didn’t. Not in this bet.</p>
<p>When the slow dancing music was tuned in, everyone partnered up again and Athena felt so proud of herself at the sight of Buck and Eddie slowly meandering their way around the room. </p>
<p>After it was over, Eddie and Buck made their way to the outside but Athena’s gut instinct told her that she should follow them. </p>
<p>“Where are you going?” Bobby’s hand was still holding unto hers.</p>
<p>“Something tells me that we’re going to see that sleazeball again.”</p>
<p>She didn’t have to point out who she meant. The sleazeball wedged himself between Eddie and Buck somehow. He was also flanked closely by two other men, their hairs slicked back with grease.</p>
<p>What happened next felt as if she was in somebody’s life. She was watching someone who looked like her quickly stride through the busy throng of moving and drunken bodies. </p>
<p>She saw herself pick up the pace and take out the phone at the sound of Buck calling ‘Eddie’s name’<br/>She recalled exactly what she said over the phone. </p>
<p>‘911. This is Sergeant Grant. I need a backup unit for Abbey Food and Bar. I have several suspects fleeing on foot.”</p>
<p>It wasn’t the entire truth. She knew that. But her surrogate son and his boyfriend may be in danger. The details can be worked out later.</p>
<p>Pained yells and the sounds of scuffling made her run towards the alleyway that split between the bar and the next restaurant. </p>
<p>A small crowd of onlookers, noisy and useless with someone already recording the damn scene, was building up and she pushed her way. Most of the people recognized her face and the sea parted easily for her, giving her a front row seat to something she thought she’d never see. </p>
<p>A Buck who was vicious.   </p>
<p>Buck who was deadly efficient in his moves and silent. </p>
<p>At first, she thought that maybe she was looking at Buck’s twin brother. </p>
<p>The violent and effortless way he handled two of the suspects shocked her. Bobby hadn’t told her that Buck took martial arts or whatever this was. It was similar to Taekwondo but the moves were slightly different. That throw was impressive and Athena recognized an Aikido move when she sees it.</p>
<p>The blare of sirens was heard from a distance and judging by how quickly they were getting louder, she estimated their ETA to be in 5 minutes. </p>
<p>5 minutes should be long enough for her to say ‘police! Put your hands up’ to the remaining goon.</p>
<p>5 minutes was all it took for everything to go to hell in a hand basket. </p>
<p>The goon that was the initiator in all of this had Eddie by the throat, a gun at the temple.</p>
<p>“So you think yourself a hotshot, huh?” The gunman screamed and she yelled, taking out her firearm and aiming it at the perp’s head. Buck’s frame was thankfully further to the left of the guy’s head and she was grateful that he hadn’t flinched at the sign of a weapon being pointed out at him. </p>
<p>She hadn’t counted on the gunman being nervous, his fingers shaking as he held the weapon in his hand. First-time shooters are the worst. They’re unpredictable.</p>
<p>And he behaved unpredictably. Thunder clapped in the hot California air and a second one answered it just as loudly. Adrenaline ran high in Athena’s body but the experience kept her grounded. Grounded enough for her to holster her gun and direct the reinforcements to the other goons. </p>
<p>Bobby and the rest of the 118 were just now arriving at the scene; the drunkenness and giddiness of Hen’s birthday celebration fizzling away to varying degrees of panic and horror for their friends. </p>
<p>“We have a 10-71. I repeat, a 10-71,” an officer said into a radio. The tag on her uniform read ‘R. ALVAREZ.’ “Ma’am, it’s bad. We’ll need an ambulance.”</p>
<p>“I need to check on my boys,” Athena’s firm voice cut the conversation short and Officer Alvarez nodded, allowing her to pass into the new crime scene.</p>
<p>She saw Eddie trying to pull Buck up but one of the officers gently pulled him away, trying to get him still so the first responders could do their job.</p>
<p>Hen and Chimney had already beaten her to them; their movements more coordinated as the situation helped put them into ‘work mode’ as it were. It was a good thing everyone was sobering up after seeing Eddie and Buck kiss. </p>
<p>“Pupils are dilated and slower to respond. He may have a grade 1 concussion,” Hen’s hands worked quickly at the slightly dazed man’s side. </p>
<p>It was Buck, who worried her the most. His face, pale and sweaty, was so ashen that she thought he was going to pass out from the sheer sight of blood. Head wounds always bled more than they should, no matter how small the injury could be. He was so far out of it, he failed to notice that he and Eddie weren’t alone. </p>
<p>She asked him a couple of questions, a hand on the shoulder. “Buckaroo, you good? You injured?”</p>
<p>He didn’t respond. He just kept staring at Eddie, blue eyes fixed on the man lying against the wall, with Chimney and Hen hovering over him. The dark brown jacket he wore made it hard to see if he’d been injured. There was a gun involved in the fight but maybe Buck had been lucky enough not to get hit.</p>
<p>Bobby came around her and pulled Buck’s arm up, only to have Buck hiss in pain and then suddenly collapse, his long legs folding underneath him as if he were puppet with its strings cut.</p>
<p>“Buck!” Bobby was a strong man but even he had trouble holding all the dead weight of a giant of a firefighter in peak condition. Chimney was immediately at their side, easing their friend down to the ground so his head wouldn’t smash against the asphalt. He was saying something to Bobby as he checked Buck for any injuries. </p>
<p>Athena’s heart tore at the desperate way Buck was flailing his arms as if the boy was trying to look for someone. She watched, with morbid fascination, Chimney take off the jacket, the man tsking at the sight of the crimson pool on Buck’s torso. <br/>Athena gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in shock. </p>
<p>The first retort. </p>
<p>She remembered the gunman firing first but had stupidly hoped that Buck wasn’t in the bullet’s path. She should have known better and blamed her slow responses on the three glasses of wine she drank earlier.</p>
<p>After this, she’ll never be able to drink like this on her day off or rather her night off. <br/>Maddie was doing her best not to break down and be useless to her brother. The way her body was trembling and her soft voice cracking as she was whispering Buck’s name was an indication that the 911 dispatcher was close to losing it. Athena wouldn’t blame her but she needed Maddie calm. </p>
<p>“Buck? Buck! Oh my god, Chimney, is he ok?”</p>
<p>Athena took Maddie by the elbow with a little more force than she intended and guided her away from the scene.</p>
<p>“No, no,” Maddie’s voice was getting shriller by the moment. “I-I-I need to see him. Is he ok? How badly is it?”</p>
<p>“Maddie, Buck’s hurt, bad. He…” This never gets any easier. “He got shot. But the best thing you can do for him right now is to stay calm. He needs his big sister.”<br/>Maddie’s eyes seemed to get even redder and puffier. Doubt began to edge into Athena until finally, Maddie took a few shuddering deep breaths. </p>
<p>“Just let me ride with him. Please.” Maddie pleaded and Athena didn’t have the heart to tell her no. </p>
<p>-o0o-</p>
<p>The ambulance took Buck and Eddie to the ER and, 4 hours later, everyone was still in the waiting room.</p>
<p>Michael, having heard the news from Athena, arrived half an hour after Athena and the 118 did and brought a change of clothes for Bobby. Harry and May hugged Athena, knowing that she loved Buck like another son. Bobby’s eyes were still haunted and Athena would never forget seeing Bobby’s eyes widened at the blood covering his hands and shirt. </p>
<p>Right after the ambulance arrived at the hospital and Buck was rushed to the OR, she made him go and change, to not scare her two babies.</p>
<p>“Is Buck gonna be ok?” Harry sounded more exhausted than her as if he was the one who’d been here since midnight when everything went to hell. </p>
<p>She kissed Harry on top of his head and let him curl against her side.</p>
<p>“Buck’s strong. He’ll pull through.” May answered her brother and Athena gave her a proud smile. May was the strong one in their family and she had a very close relationship with Buck. </p>
<p>Eddie was already placed in a room by the time her kids got here. The doctor on duty told them that he was doing fine but he needed someone to keep an eye on him for the next 12 hours. </p>
<p>Usually, that someone would have been Buck. </p>
<p>Except Buck was still in surgery. He was still lost behind those OR doors, the one place where Bobby couldn’t follow and she saw the hurt in her husband’s eyes when the OR team denied him entrance. </p>
<p>“I’ll look after him,” Bobby had offered when the doctor asked about it and he went to Eddie’s room, trusting Athena to let him know as soon as Buck’s status was told to them.</p>
<p>Chimney sat quietly in the chair across from them, an arm keeping Maddie close as the latter sniffled and clutched at her travel mug. Hen and Karen were on the opposite side of them. The silence in the waiting room was telling and Athena wondered if this would be a normal occurrence now – going to the hospital, whenever one of them was injured, which was every month.</p>
<p>“Family of Evan Buckley?” </p>
<p>A voice called out to them and all heads shifted up to see a lone figure standing by the double doors of the ER suite. A small smile appeared on the tanned face and Athena’s anxiety dissipated a little bit. Normally, bad news would not wear that kind of smile – tired but relieved. </p>
<p>Everyone got up to crowd around the newcomer, who was a bit surprised at how many different people surrounded him. </p>
<p>“We all are,” Athena said without hesitation. Even if it wasn’t true on paper, Buck will always be family. </p>
<p>“Well, normally, I would not be forthright with the information but I’ve operated on Mr. Buckley after the fire truck incident and seen some of you before. He’s a lucky man. The bullet passed through non-vital organs but when it struck the rib, it forced some of the bone to puncture a lung. Luckily, whoever did the initial treatment for the pneumothorax, did a great job in alleviating the pressure in the initial buildup.”<br/>Everybody looked to Hen and Chimney with a grateful smile. </p>
<p>“Such as it is, we’re cautiously optimistic that he’s going to make a full recovery barring any complications.”</p>
<p>“Complications?” Hen asked and Athena could tell with the way her brows furrowed that the paramedic was going through a list of possible challenges that might hinder Buck’s recovery. “Pneumonia, infection, and the like?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” the doctor sounded impressed by Hen. “Given his medical history, we’ll be keeping a closer watch on him, however, should something arise. With that squared away, visiting hours are over by 11 pm but if there’s only one of you, then I’m not going to kick you out either.”</p>
<p>“Thanks, doctor.”</p>
<p>The doctor gave them a tired smile before heading towards the nurse station to answer one of the questions by his colleague.</p>
<p>“We’ll take turns sitting with Buck,” Bobby said and Maddie’s lips grew into a grateful smile. “He wouldn’t want to be alone. I’ll be with Eddie until he’s fine. I’m sure Maddie will be with Buck.”</p>
<p>And that was that. </p>
<p>Athena drew in a deep breath and let it out in a controlled exhale.</p>
<p>“Our Buck’s going to be ok. He’ll be alright,” she was telling more to herself than to the group. Bobby’s only answer was taking her into his arms, his hands rubbing her back in soothing circles. </p>
<p>“This is his 4th visit in this hospital. Do you think they have a loyalty punch card for Buck?” Chimney’s joke cracked the silence with quiet laughter and a pained ‘ow’ from the Korean paramedic as Maddie pinched him in the side. </p>
<p>Athena couldn’t help but snort at the awfully timed joke but Chimney was right about the number of times Buck came to the hospital as a patient. She hoped that, with the realization of a family waiting for him, Buck’s recklessness would simmer down. </p>
<p>Only time would tell.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Probably loaded with medical inaccuracies but oh well.<br/>Next chappie will be either from Eddie or Buck (eventual smut maybe!). </p>
<p>As always, leave a kudos/comment. If you don't, I love you anyways for just sticking with the story.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Buck</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Waking up in a hospital is a habit that Buck really would love to drop.</p><p>Being cared for by family is something Buck would never tire of.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He should know by now what a hospital bed feels like. Semi-hard but uncomfortable. The scent of bleached sheets was sharp and acrid to his nose. So much so that it made him want to tip over the bed and throw up just to protest. A hand squeezed his and he focused on the strength of the hand, the tender way the fingers grazed his own. He’d know that hand by each ridge on the palm, the small callouses caused by holding a gun for several years.</p><p>“There you go, Buck. C’mon back to me…”</p><p>Eddie’s low voice rumbled soothingly in his ear and Buck slowly opened his eyes only to snap them shut as the harsh white lights knifed through his head painfully. </p><p>“Here,” A chair shifted closer to his bed and the light darkened enough to let Buck try again to see the outside world.</p><p>“Hey, you with us?”</p><p>
  <em>Us?</em>
</p><p>“Yeah…” Buck’s throat was parched and his lips were dry and cracked from not having water over the past two days. Before he could even ask for some, a small ice chip was gently placed in his mouth and Buck let out a relieved moan at the needed moisture.</p><p>The ice chip seemed to revitalize his energy, enough to have him blink his eyes several times to bring his hazy vision into focus. </p><p>Honeyed brown eyes gazed back at him, worry warring with relief in their depths. Next to him stood Maddie, her hands cupped in front of her face as if she was sending a silent prayer that had been answered. </p><p>“Buck,” Maddie whispered and she threaded his hair with her slender fingers. “How are you feeling?”</p><p>“Like I’ve been shot,” Buck’s voice was hoarse and rough but he still had some energy to make a joke. </p><p>Eddie’s lips thinned into a slight grimace. Maddie just rolled her eyes, knowing full well that nothing could keep Buck down long enough to crack jokes at inopportune times.<br/>
“You were shot,” Maddie said, a tight smile adding to the stress lines already present in her face. </p><p>They both looked exhausted. Eyes a little bloodshot and Eddie was sporting two dark circles underneath his eyes. If Buck were more conscious, he’d ask if Eddie was still doing street fighting but in the MMA gym for Veterans instead of the illegal club. Buck just stared at the both of them, wondering how he got here. </p><p>“Buck, you don’t remember?” Worry crept back into Maddie’s voice and she leaned over him a little more. Her hand enveloped his in a cold embrace. Eddie shifted to stand closer to his head and he bent down, as if about to tell him a state secret. </p><p>Instead, lips pressed lightly against his own and Buck’s eyes grew wet at that simple gesture.</p><p>“Buck, don’t scare me like that again.”</p><p>“I was saving your ass, Eddie,” Buck groused and he tried to sit up only to release a hissed ‘shit’ as pain shot through his abdomen and into his chest. </p><p>“Not that part,” Eddie glanced down at his torso. Thick gauze was taped expertly on the left side of his stomach and white tape was wrapped around his chest, binding it tightly. “For dying on me, carino.”</p><p>Carino? Buck really needs to start learning Spanish because he wants to know every word that slips out of those lips. </p><p>“It means ‘carino,’ Buck.”</p><p>“Did…did I say that out loud?” Eddie’s soft smile made his heart beat a little faster and Maddie shook her head at the way his heart beat sped faster on the monitor nearby. </p><p>“I’ll let the others know you’re awake,” Maddie was saying before she leaned back and brushing a stray strand away from Buck’s forehead. </p><p>“They’re here?” Buck couldn’t believe it. He thought he’d be alone with his pain. It was always the case in the past. </p><p>Maddie’s eyes saddened at his question and she took her brother’s hand into hers, grasping it with an unknown strength that took Buck by surprise. </p><p>“Of course, Evan. We’re always going to be here for you. You’re my little brother. Though later, you’re going to have tell me where you got those smooth moves from.”</p><p>There was an underlying threat there. Or I’ll tell Eddie all those embarrassing moments you did as a ten year old.</p><p>She smirked at him and Buck knew that it wasn’t a threat at all. It was a promise and the groan Buck released had Eddie rub a soothing circle on his shoulder. </p><p>“I’ll leave you two alone,” Maddie teased and she left the room too quickly for either of the two men to stop her. </p><p>“…Eddie…” God, it was getting hard to stay awake now. Eddie’s brown eyes continued to stare at him and his voice a soothing lullaby as the older man was telling him how he crashed in the ambulance and then miraculously survived surgery after being dead for a few minutes. What got to Buck was not the details on what he missed out on. It was the way Eddie seemed to be holding himself in. His shoulders were hunched in and there was a guarded look to those eyes of his. The softness was still there but something else too. Buck wasn’t sure he wanted to put a label to it. If he did, Eddie may shut him out for good and Buck couldn’t let that happen.</p><p>“Te necesito, Buck,” Eddie kissed him and he bent low to whisper in his ear, “te quiero conmigo y Christoper.”</p><p>“…I…Eddie…” Buck wanted to ask what Eddie was saying to him but the pull of sleep was getting too strong. </p><p>“I need you,” Eddie’s voice followed him down into the soft darkness and Buck was all too willing to fall into it.</p><p>-o0o-</p><p>The next time Buck woke up, it was easier and not as foggy. </p><p>Eddie was also not there. Instead, Bobby was sitting at the chair next to him, with Athena standing at the doorway, talking quietly on the phone. </p><p>He tried to get up, not really liking at how stiff his muscles were from laying down for so long. Unfortunately, his muscles protested and there was a moderate twinge of pain in his torso.<br/>
It left him groaning in the bed and Bobby was at his side in the blink of an eye. Athena had turned around, eyes wide in relief at Buck waking up. </p><p>“He’s up, Hen. I’ll call you afterwards.”</p><p>She put the phone away and walked to Buck’s bed. </p><p>“’Bout time you woke up there. We were all getting worried about you. How you feeling?”</p><p>“Better. Where’s Eddie?”</p><p>Athena rolled her eyes in fake exasperation and Bobby chuckled at the befuddled expression on his kid’s face.</p><p>“Told you that Eddie is the first he’s gonna ask for,” Athena called it. </p><p>Buck groaned again, but this time out of embarrassment.</p><p>“I told Eddie to go home and wash up. He was looking worse than a tomcat after a fight.”</p><p>Eddie certainly would have no problems looking like a tomcat. Strong, graceful and sure of himself. Buck had an idle thought of what he might look like in bed. Would he ride him or fight for dominance and push Buck down and into him? </p><p>Shit. Bobby and Athena are here and he definitely should not pop a boner in a hospital bed, where all he was clothed in was a thin ass hospital gown. </p><p>He made a deliberate move with his right arm and the pain that jolted down through it did the job of cutting the arousal down. It also had Bobby coddle him even more and thus prolonging their stay even more. Ugh. He just can’t get a break.</p><p>“You need pain medication, Buck?”</p><p>“No, I’m, uh, I’m good, Bobby.” His response caused a few raised eyebrows but neither Bobby nor Athena commented on the unwillingness of Buck taking morphine or the like.<br/>
There was a reason behind it but Buck didn’t really want to go into the details. Not right now.</p><p>An awkward silence would have settled upon the trio. Thankfully, the doctor had impeccable timing and knocked on the door, more out of courtesy for the patient than anything else.</p><p>“Well, Mr. Buckley,” the medical professional said, the same one who gave him a clean bill of health not too long ago. “If I’d had known you were that excited to see me again, I’d have taken a postcard instead of a gunshot wound.”</p><p>With the casual way the doctor had greeted them, Buck knew that he’s well on his way to a full recovery. </p><p>“Your guardian angel must be working overtime for the past year because each time you’re here, it’s either a critical injury or worse.”</p><p>Bobby patted Buck on a bare shoulder, telling Buck through touch that the captain was there for him. That there wouldn’t be repercussions unlike the aftermath of the pulmonary embolism.</p><p>“What’s the diagnosis?” Athena apparently had no patience for the familiarity of the medical professional and the doctor gave her a polite look-over before reviewing his clipboard for a quick minute and then looking pointedly at Buck. </p><p>“Everything checks out. There’s no liquid in the lungs and the fractures in his ribs are healing quite nicely. Barring any superhuman moves, he’ll be ready to go in a day or two. He’ll have pain medication subscribed to him though considering his past history with them, the minimum dosage if at all possible.”</p><p>“Past history?”</p><p>The doctor’s eyes danced between Athena and Buck. In a brief moment, the man seemed a little unsure if he should continue. </p><p>“I…accidentally overdosed on hydrocodone back in college.” Buck managed to say and he wished he was unconscious again when Athena glared at him, making him feel like a teenager boy all over again.</p><p>“I misread the dosage and I was in pain.” It was the truth. He’d gotten into an accident with a drunk driver in college and the doctor prescribed the strongest dosage. Unfortunately, while the doctor specifically told him to take half of a tablet a day, what was written on the prescription was twice a day. A mistype on the pharmacist’s side. </p><p>Needless to say, his parents successfully sued the hell out of the pharmacist, making the whole affair even more embarrassing and complicated and unforgettable in the worst possible way. </p><p>“That’s why you were hesitant about the medication after the fire truck,” Bobby said quietly and Buck ducked his head, not really wanting to see the look of disappointment in his captain’s eyes.</p><p>“Buck, I know you, kid.” Bobby’s voice was firm. Buck raised his eyes, still unsure of what he’s going to find when he looked up at Bobby and Athena.</p><p>They both regarded him with parental warmth and understanding. It was a far cry from what he was used to with his biological parents.</p><p>Fuck. He’s gonna cry again. Such a crybaby. A voice said to him. His father’s voice – stiff and cold as ice. </p><p>Sensing his emotional state, Bobby rubbed his shoulder soothingly while Athena kissed the top of his head. It was so uncharacteristically familial that Buck’s eyes teared up even more.<br/>
“Buck, you’ve got us. Just get some rest, ok? Eddie said he’ll be here by lunch once Chris is dropped off at school.”</p><p>The mention of Eddie’s name relaxed him a little and Buck smiled at the thought of seeing his lover again. For once, he was glad that he got hurt at the beginning of his four days off. rotation It was probably why everyone was able to come see him as much as they did. </p><p>And Buck was grateful for that. In fact, he was stoked happy to see that he wasn’t alone. That there were people who cared about him.</p><p>“Though with the way you put those boys down, you’re gonna have to tell me where you learned that from,” Athena said or rather demanded with the way she crossed her arms underneath her bosom and had that look that Buck was sure her teenage kids whenever they did something that warranted an explanation or two.</p><p>Bobby saved him from answering, at least for now, by talking about introducing a self-defense class and having Eddie and Buck host it for the entire fire station.<br/>
That was possibly going to be either the best or worst idea his captain ever had. </p><p>However, with Bobby even considering it meant that Buck wasn’t going to be benched like last time.</p><p>“Thanks, cap,” Buck was grateful for it and Bobby ruffled his head, prompting a ‘hey!’ from Buck. </p><p>And from there, the trio talked about what their plans for Halloween as it was looming closer and closer. The talk eventually continued well after Buck fell asleep, with Bobby and Athena murmuring softly to each other in low tones so as not to wake him up.</p><p>When the pair had to leave to go home and take care of May and Harry, Athena noticed that Buck was shivering a little bit. The covers had fallen off and pooled around the man’s waist.</p><p>She lifted the bed covers and covered them up to Buck’s shoulders before leaning over him again and planted a small kiss in his dark blonde hair. </p><p>Buck shifted and mumbled something before relaxing deeper into the bed. Whatever Athena wanted to say had to wait for next time.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Translation (I used google translate - *looks guilty*)<br/>Te necesito - I need you<br/>Te quiero conmigo y Christopher - I want you with me and Christopher</p><p>I'm not great with fluffy scenes like this so I hope it's good enough. :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Eddie</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Eddie never liked hospitals. </p>
<p>The acrid bleach scrapped along his senses like sandpaper - harsh and grating. </p>
<p>Ever since he met Buck, however, he was getting used to them and that terrifies him.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the delay! I had writer's block for a day and found some music that inspired me to write better (hopefully?). </p>
<p>Hope ya like it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The soft beeps of the machine that helped Buck breathe were what woke Eddie up first. He had spent the last 10 hours in his own room before the Doctor finally cleared him to go home.</p>
<p>Under the orders of someone keeping an hour on him, which turned out to be Bobby.</p>
<p>However, he was determined to stay with Buck right after the surgery. Initially, the doctor was against it, stating that it was against hospital policy to allow a non-family member to stay in the room as the patient. Once Eddie stated that they were partners for life, which he really should talk with Buck about it first, the attending doctor acquiesced. Having Bobby there acting as a surrogate parent also helped as the captain pulled his rank of the patient’s immediate supervisor in a first responder setting as well as using a ‘surrogate parent’ card.</p>
<p>He threw Bobby a tired but grateful nod, too emotionally exhausted to use words. <br/>Eddie felt horrible and quite frankly nauseous by all that happened. </p>
<p>The rollercoaster ride of his emotions certainly strung his nerves out into thin wires. Any sudden dip or peak in emotion would certainly result in him snapping. </p>
<p>He was hopeful by Chris’ suggestion of wearing a shirt that Buck bought him for Christmas last year. It was buoyed up by the way Buck’s eyes brightened at the sight of him wearing said shirt. And then the slow burn of jealousy tempered it down, to the point where Eddie was tempted to either snog the hell out of Buck right in front of his friends, Greg and Ethan, or to just quit while he got ahead of himself. </p>
<p>When the music tempo increased as did the number of drinks he imbibed in, the tight clamp he held unto his fears slowly fizzled away. Enough to let himself reach out for he viewed as an impossibility before that night. </p>
<p>And it was enough for Buck. It was good enough to draw his insecurities down into a deep black hole and he grazed Buck with his lips. </p>
<p>The soft press of those full lips. The tantalizing brush of a tongue against his. </p>
<p>If they weren’t at the bar, Eddie was sure he would have pinned Buck against the nearest wall or even door. The way Buck whispered his name made his blood go hot.</p>
<p>But the sweet memory of their first kiss mingled with the sharp pang of agony of someone striking him across the cheek. The loud thud of his body hitting the wall. He had instinctively braced his body on his forearms right before the collision, preventing his head from jarring hard into the hard brick of the building. It was perhaps the only reason why he had a grade 1 concussion instead of a grade 3.</p>
<p>However, a concussion was still a concussion. </p>
<p>It still knocked his thoughts around enough for him to be aware of what’s going and be useless to help Buck out. </p>
<p>He had watched with wide, terrified eyes as Chimney and Hen treated the resulting pneumothorax by inserting a hollow pen into a hole cut open by a knife. The scenes had come with such clarity that it made Eddie want to throw up in the hospital. </p>
<p>Blood. Buck’s blood stained his lover’s beautiful polo shirt as well as Eddie’s hands. </p>
<p>Which he didn’t even know about until a paramedic asked if he was alright. Asked if the blood was his. </p>
<p>Chimney and Hen saved him from having to answer as he would have broken down into tears.</p>
<p>It flung his memory back to that time when he saw Shannon lying still on the crosswalk. Face going grey and her eyes taking on that faraway gaze of someone looking into somewhere else. A brighter place perhaps. </p>
<p>And here he was again, in the same hospital where Shannon died. </p>
<p>Except this time, as he now looked upon Buck’s pale form, he may be looking at Buck’s last few moments in life. </p>
<p>He must have fallen asleep again while sending fervent prayers to God because a gentle hand shook his shoulders.</p>
<p>He snapped awake, fearing that he may have missed Buck being awake and not being able to ask for help from him because of his sleepiness. </p>
<p>“Hey, it’s ok. It’s just me, Maddie.” A pair of bloodshot eyes gazed back at his in equal measures of concern and relief. </p>
<p>Probably because he had woken up immediately, which meant that his concussion was dying away finally.</p>
<p>“Bobby said he had to go home and get changed real quick so I’m staying in till Buck’s awake.”</p>
<p>“It’s been over 18 hours, Maddie,” Eddie groused and if Maddie saw him clutch at Buck’s hand a little desperately, so be it. </p>
<p>Yes, they all saw him and Buck in a quiet, intimate moment. A very expensive moment for those who lost the best. However, seeing it in a drunken haze could be vastly different from watching their two friends connect on a deeper level. Which Eddie was afraid of. </p>
<p>He was terrified of what the 118 truly saw of their relationship.</p>
<p>His experiences back in Texas weren’t all that great. From a dad that disapproved even the very thought of strong Diazes being all ‘fairy’ and such to the jockeys in high school that sometimes became homophobic bullies, Eddie had buried that self-awareness of his sexuality so deep, he was afraid of himself for a time. </p>
<p>Shannon had brought in him a sense of identity and self-worth. But his marriage to her was a sad state of affairs – they only got married because of a moderate friendship that culminated into a pre-marital pregnancy. To avoid shaming his Diaz household, he did the right thing by marrying Shannon and staying together to raise the family.</p>
<p>He did the right thing by enlisting in the military because he got married so young and had to work odd jobs just to have food on the table for all of them. But in reality, he hated the fact that Shannon took up his whole life without really asking what he wanted. They never talked about kids before it was forced upon them. Heck, they were just happy to graduate high school and start college. </p>
<p>And Eddie thought it was enough. He thought the sacrifices to his dreams were enough to keep Shannon around but it wasn’t. </p>
<p>The parallels between Shannon and Buck were so different, it made Eddie reel back emotionally. </p>
<p>With Shannon, he had her back by going to the military and getting paid. He had to work to get Shannon his back and she didn’t truly. </p>
<p>All it took for Buck to have his back was a bomb in some poor schmuck’s leg and his praise. It was easy with Buck – to talk, which was a phenomenon by itself, to take care of Chris and himself. Whenever Eddie or Chris got sick, Buck was there when he could. The blonde firefighter even took a few hours extra off to do so when needed. And that was before the lawsuit. Before their unresolved tension or whatever simmered between him and Buck went seemingly down the drain. </p>
<p>The lawsuit had cooled his attraction but not for long. Instead of deterring him from Buck, it just cranked up his attraction to him. There’s a saying that the absence makes the heart grow fonder. That was an understatement with Eddie. </p>
<p>It was why he was so angry with Buck because he couldn’t reach out to him for help. </p>
<p>For anything, even with Christopher. The street fighting alleviated his frustration but it just worsened his stress after the fact and the final straw was him coming home late with a bad concussion and Buck took him to the hospital without judgment. A few days after that, Buck drove him to the MMA gym that was owned by a member in his unit ironically. When Bobby found out about his illicit activities, he was understandably furious. </p>
<p>
  <em>You have a good thing going here, Diaz. Don’t mess it all up by thinking you have to go there to relieve stress. </em>
</p>
<p>He remembered Bobby’s eyes flickering to Buck as the captain said ‘it.’</p>
<p>
  <em>Dios, was it obvious then? </em>
</p>
<p>No wonder, the 118 had a generous running bet on them.</p>
<p>“Eddie, are you ok?” Maddie’s question roused him from his inner turmoil.</p>
<p>“Yeah, just thinking,” he said truthfully. </p>
<p>She understood and didn’t press for more answers. The coconut smell of her hair indicated that she showered before coming to the hospital and Eddie realized how rank his body odor must be. </p>
<p>“Don’t worry,” Maddie said as he unconsciously raised an arm to sniff at himself. </p>
<p>“With the way this hospital smells of bleach and ammonia, I can’t even smell my perfume at times whenever I’m here.”</p>
<p>The kind reassurance touched Eddie. </p>
<p>She sat down next to him, her brown dress catching nicely to where it gathered around her knees and hugged them there.</p>
<p>“Has he woken up yet?” She had her gaze focused on Buck’s sleeping form, the machine whirring as it helped him breathe. </p>
<p>“No, not yet.” </p>
<p>“Hmm. A quiet optimist,” Maddie teased him and Eddie ducked his head to avoid the brunette seeing a slight flush in his cheeks.</p>
<p>“I’m trying,” Eddie started to say but Maddie patted him on the knee, like a big sister trying to comfort a little brother. </p>
<p>In a way, Eddie thinks, Maddie is like a big sister to the 118. She is Buck’s oldest and only sister. Despite the large age gap between her and Buck, it didn’t hinder the Buckley’s connection. Rather, their bond strengthened, especially after Doug’s abrupt and violent introduction into their lives.</p>
<p>“My Abuela is bringing Chris in this evening after school,” Eddie said, not finding the silence comfortable. In the silence, he was left with the beeping sounds of the machines around him and Buck. His thoughts tended to overwhelm him if it was too quiet and Christopher provided a much-needed distraction away from them. </p>
<p>As if hearing that Chris was going to be here, there was a soft pained moan coming from the bed and the slack fingers in Eddie’s hand shifted.</p>
<p>If Eddie had a heart monitor hooked up to his, it would have gone through the roof and alert anyone nearby of a possible cardiac arrest. Only seeing those baby blues calmed down his heart and Eddie felt like he could get lost in them, no matter the state. </p>
<p>-o0o-</p>
<p>A few hours later, Maddie had gone home for the night when Chris and Abuela arrived. </p>
<p>The familiar taps of crutches padding gently across the tiled floor had Eddie look up from his present vigil over Buck, who fought valiantly in staying awake till his favorite Diaz arrived but succumbed to a deep slumber.</p>
<p>“Dad!” Chris whispered and he walked faster to his dad, the soft clacking of his crutches loud in the quiet room. How his 9-year old managed to be so bright and so energetic was beyond Eddie’s comprehension in the current moment.</p>
<p>Abuela whispered something to Chris and the boy reached out to her hands, grasping a beige envelope and then giving it to Eddie. </p>
<p>Eddie just wrapped him up in his arms, hugging him tightly as if he was afraid that his little boy would crumble without him. </p>
<p>“Dad…it’s…it’s gonna be ok,” Chris said in his ear and Eddie pulled back. He didn’t know he was crying until Chris rubbed his finger along his father’s cheekbone to wipe away the tears. </p>
<p>“I got this for Buck. Abuela told me what happened and. And I wanted to cheer him up.”</p>
<p>Eddie noticed that the envelope hadn’t been sealed yet and he gestured to Chris if he could open it up. </p>
<p>Chris’ head nodded and Eddie pulled the card out. </p>
<p>On the front were three small stick figures – two big ones and a little in between. A yellow sun was drawn to the right corner of them and the stick figures were all smiling. There were enough details on the figures for Eddie to recognize which is who. </p>
<p>A house stood behind the stick figures, Eddie’s house, and, hanging above the house was the word ‘Family’ in bright colors that alternated between red and black. The same color of their uniforms. </p>
<p>The inside of the card read ‘Get better soon, Buck! Your family needs you!’</p>
<p>“Do you think Buck will like it?” Chris’ voice sounded so timid, as if his precious little boy was uncertain of just how much Buck loves him, loves them. It made Eddie want to squeeze his son into tiny pieces but he couldn’t because of his frailty. </p>
<p>Eddie opted for gathering Chris in his arms again and kissing him on the forehead.<br/>Abuela took her seat next to Eddie, tsking softly at Buck and mentioning to Eddie of how her Buck needs to wake up so she could teach him her secret tamale recipe. </p>
<p>“You’re teaching him tamales, Abuela?” Eddie was astounded by that. Sure, Buck was a very good cook, thanks to Bobby bringing him under his wing in the kitchen. But for Abuela to teach her secret recipe that’s been in the family for generations was extraordinary.</p>
<p>Even his sisters don’t know that recipe and they were excellent cooks. At least excellent enough to keep their families full and healthy at every meal.</p>
<p>“Of course. You can’t cook and Buck wants to learn all of your favorites.”</p>
<p>Oh, of course, he does.</p>
<p>Another reason why he loves Buck. Whatever Buck is obsessed with, he’ll research till he’s blue in the face with it. Or has committed every useless fact in that giant head of his. </p>
<p>He sat carefully in his seat, making sure that Chris wasn’t jostled suddenly with his adjustments. </p>
<p>Once the pair found a comfortable position, they both waited with bated breath for Buck to wake up.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I wanted to add more but I didn't want to make Eddie's POV too lengthy. </p>
<p>More angst and comfort to come!</p>
<p>Any thoughts/predictions, drop them off and I'll reply within 24 hours.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Bobby</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Bobby views Buck as his son. He's known the blonde man since he was Buck 1.0 and has seen the profound character development the young man underwent over the past 2 years. </p><p>Now, with Eddie letting Buck become Buck 3.0, Bobby thinks it's time to give him the 'talk'. After all, he personally knows a cop who could help him hide a body.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So sorry for the delay! Rl events crept in and I had to handle them quickly. </p><p>Here's Bobby POV!</p><p>Again, thank you, reader, for keeping up with the story.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been two months since the entire 118 went out to celebrate Hen’s birthday.<br/>
</p><p>8 weeks of odd quietness in the absence of a certain blonde firefighter who was still convalescing from the gunshot wound. </p><p>Luckily, their call outs, while plentiful, weren’t as intense as they could be. Without a brave but lucky young Buck to do the more dangerous parts of the rescue, Bobby had to contend with doing more cautious runs. He was already down a man and didn’t want to risk anyone else’s life. </p><p>Bobby came to an epiphany about the myriad relationships of his 118 crew. No, family. Because Athena, while she wasn’t directly a part of his firefighter crew, attended much of their family Sunday dinners at the station whenever he was on shift. She was the group’s proclaimed ‘Mama Grant’ and ensured that everyone under his thumb was treated well. </p><p>Which meant she chewed his ass out on numerous occasions. </p><p>Like the lawsuit.</p><p>Oh yeah, that caused a huge fallout and he was forced to sleep on the couch for a week before and during Buck’s first week back after the lawsuit fiasco.</p><p>She pushed him to confront his inadequacies about not being a good father to his own family. And while he fought with her and lost with flying colors, he eventually realized that what he had done, how he treated Buck did both of them a disservice.</p><p>The final straw didn’t come from Athena, however. It came on a Tuesday morning of all things, where it was slow as heck and he was bored out of his mind at work. </p><p>He didn’t want to watch Buck do the menial chores as Bobby ordered out of a place of fear that any call outs would slam the poor boy back to the hospital. </p><p>Hen must have seen some sort of look of disappointment flicker over his face for the paramedic flopped down beside him and began talking about how Buck was doing good. Never complained about anything he was ordered to. Even when his leg was hurting towards the end of a 24-hour shift and Buck had no one to come home to, the blonde didn’t say a word. Just gave a ‘can-do, cap’ attitude and a false beaming smile. </p><p>A smile that didn’t reach his eyes. </p><p>“Did you know that Buck won the lawsuit?” Hen’s statement was so far left field, it confused Bobby for a minute. </p><p>What? How did they get to talk about the lawsuit?</p><p>Her glasses, while bigger than her eyes, merely accentuated the round shape of her eyes and the beauty of her face. </p><p>“Chimney and I and the rest, besides Eddie, we already forgave Buck because we both needed it. It’s not permission to forget. It’s allowing us to recognize it for what it is. Have you noticed that Buck, out of all of us, doesn’t have anyone to come home to?”<br/>
</p><p>She took a sip of her hot cup of green tea. The steam rolled off harmlessly into the cold air. He could tell she added a dash of honey to sweeten the beverage by the subtle sweet scent of it. </p><p>“He has Maddie,” Bobby said simply. As if that was the answer to everything that Buck was and acted. As if it was simple to use Maddie as justification for him to put Buck on light duty in his first week back. </p><p>Hen shook her head with a sad smile. </p><p>“No, Maddie stays with Chimney now. Sure, she still has her place but she’s practically moved-in to Chimney’s. Buck has no one and yet he still picked us. He could have had those millions of dollars in his pocket and simply moved on. He chose us, Bobby. We’re his family because we’re the only one he’s got. That poor boy’s been through everything. You should talk to him and move on from there.
Because I’ll tell you one thing. When a person is caught between a rock and a hard place, they’ll choose the route that’s the easiest but not the best.”</p><p>Bobby caught on to what Hen was not saying. Hell, she was saying a lot that struck a nerve. And his brows furrowed as she mentioned that Buck could have been a millionaire but chose against it. That he picked the 118 because it was family to him.</p><p>And if a person wasn’t welcomed into the folds of a family, then Bobby feared that, if this continues on the current path, he would have to talk Buck away from jumping off the ledge one day. </p><p>And he didn’t want that. </p><p>He sidelined Buck to the bench so he could avoid seeing Buck work himself to death.<br/>
</p><p>And what Hen was saying implied he was still putting Buck on the suicidal path, despite his best efforts otherwise. </p><p>The conversation was months ago but it still left a deep hurt in Bobby’s heart. The revelation of Hen’s talk helped him forgive Buck and, it seemed that almost immediately after his heart-to-heart talk with Buck, the young man and Eddie made up as well. </p><p>He wasn’t eavesdropping on their conversation. Nope. </p><p>He just managed to stand quietly and let the scene play out. A small voice yelled out a childish ‘Yay!’ in his head at the sight of them hugging and his approach to them was probably what made Eddie withdraw quickly from Buck’s hug. </p><p>And almost ten months later, on the 23rd of September 2020, the two men kissed and Buck was back in the hospital. Again. </p><p>Bobby thanked God it wasn’t because of the train wreck though the emotional mess of Abby’s unexpected reappearance did more damage to Buck than the stress of the rescue itself. He thanked God that Eddie was there for Buck when he or Athena couldn’t be there at Buck’s side in the hospital. </p><p>Now, as Buck walked into the fire station, with a doctor’s note in hand and a wide smile on his face, Bobby thanked God that Buck was still here to work, to crack jokes, and tell Eddie’s problems to them at inappropriate times. </p><p>“Cleared for work, cap,” Buck beamed at him and the young man was jumping on the balls of his feet as if he was soo excited to return to work, he was jumping for it.</p><p>Bobby read the notice and it did say, amongst the jargon of a medical professional, that Buck was ‘cleared for work but in steady increments of intensity. Continuity of current career strongly contingent upon the direct supervisor’s opinion.’</p><p>In other words, it was déjà vu all over again but this time, Bobby knew what to do.<br/>
</p><p>He trusted Buck to know his limits and allow the younger man to update him on anything. </p><p>He enveloped Buck in a fatherly hug, warm and welcoming and strong. Then he clasped the young man’s shoulder, saying, ‘welcome back again, Evan Buckley.’</p><p>-o0o-</p><p>And of course, Buck does something so completely reckless, it almost makes Bobby regret giving the blonde a chance. </p><p>They’d gotten a call of a drunk driver who T-boned another vehicle, a family of three.<br/>
</p><p>Ironically, the drunk driver was the only uninjured and Bobby wanted to wallop the stupid man over the head, several times in fact, for drinking and driving.<br/>
Instead, he’ll have to be content with Athena giving the poor drunk a harsh talk about DUI charges and almost shoving him down into the back of her police vehicle.<br/>
</p><p>In a matter of 30 minutes, Bobby had two instances where he swore he was going to have a cardiac arrest. </p><p>The first instance was Buck suggesting another rope rescue as the car was dangerously careening about the edge of the road. His side was all flat road. The other side was a deep cliffside, with steep rocks cutting out into the hot mountain air. </p><p>Sweat was already gathering along the nape of Bobby’s neck and they hadn’t even started on pulling out the family. </p><p>There was a weird metallic groan and the red Toyota Highlander shifted enough to kickstart the rescue. </p><p>“Buck, Eddie, do a quick check for spinal injuries. If there aren’t any, pull the kid out now. We got seconds. Let’s go!”</p><p>Thank God the child was in a booster seat and thus it was easier for Eddie to quickly unbuckle the kid after assessing for injuries and finding only scrapes and bruises from the side airbags. </p><p>Unfortunately, the parents were more complicated.</p><p>As Eddie was shouting out the dad’s condition as unconscious and with glass embedded in his shoulder, the car shifted again and Bobby barked an order to Buck to gear up now and get ready to pull the mom out. </p><p>The second instance came when the dad was pulled unto a backboard with Chimney and Hen hovering over him, running IV lines to the patient. The car gave another metallic groan but this time the car started to slide down, with Buck finally getting the mom out just in time.</p><p>Bobby’s eyes grew wide in sheer terror when the car slid precariously over the side and all it took was a breath. A slight breeze from the north, cool and arid. </p><p>Bobby should have known not to breathe because in the next breath he saw nothing.</p><p>The car. The lady. Buck. </p><p>They were gone and panic gripped him within its vice. </p><p>It was only by sheer luck that someone helped tether Buck’s rope to the fire truck itself. He will always be grateful to the son of a bitch who had the miraculous foresight to secure Buck’s rope quickly enough. </p><p>The fact that it was Eddie who did it in between retrieving the kid and the dad from the car lessened the racing heartbeats in his ear.</p><p>Dear God, he’s going to have to sit down and have a talk with those two fucking lucky men.</p><p>He rushed towards the edge and looked down, anticipating the worst scenarios possible.</p><p>Buck unconscious and having let go of the mom. Or maybe Buck somehow also falling into the steep rocks below, his body broken and irreparable beyond measure.<br/>
</p><p>The way the mom was hanging unto Buck like a koala, the fear plain on her pale face and body shaking at being close to death, Bobby was more relieved at Buck gasping for breath and struggling to guide the mom up to Eddie’s waiting hands.</p><p>Bobby saw that several firefighters were holding Eddie’s legs back and there was a monkey chain trailing from Eddie and to the firetruck itself. The last man had wrapped his arm around the wheel as he didn’t have time to find a harness and rope to secure himself. </p><p>It took some time and a lot of teamwork for the mom to be pulled up and over the edge.</p><p>It would take longer for Bobby’s heart to slow down, even at the vision of Buck being pulled into Eddie’s waiting arms. At the way, the older firefighter just clutched at his partner, eyes filled with worry and the utter relief that Buck hadn’t tumbled down to his death. </p><p>Jesus Christ, he’s going to need a drink after this shift and then have an HR talk with them.</p><p>-o0o-</p><p>The 'you hurt Buck, I will kill you' talk couldn’t arrive any faster. </p><p>Somehow, all the important talks he had to have with a crew member always seemed to occur at the oddest hours on Wednesday. </p><p>Maybe it was to give him something to do on a Hump day. After all, coffee could only do so much to put a sense of urgency into a set of actions without eliciting a headache or two. </p><p>However, before the HR discussion, he wanted to talk to Eddie alone, casual and familiar so he could truly see how Eddie would react to his words. </p><p>He took a swift glance at the watch on his left arm. </p><p>
  <em>3:55 PM</em>
</p><p>Good. The time was perfect to allow for any food coma to pass through the body and still early enough to finish what he needs to do. </p><p>Eddie was of course with Buck when Bobby took a step out of his office. He spent the first hour after lunch speaking with the Chief about matters such as this, with a little hesitation out of a fear that the Chief might not want partners in the same house. However, the Chief was remarkably progressive. He was all for it. </p><p>Partners are more in tune with each other than anyone else. This can be critical in a rescue that requires non-verbal communication. Just be sure to tell them not to do anything unprofessional at work.</p><p>He had face-timed the Chief, as they were old friends long before Bobby got the captaincy of the 118.</p><p>And so he knew by the wiggle in the gray eyebrows what the Chief meant by ‘unprofessional.’</p><p>The relief that the Chief was alright with it made his next tasks easier. </p><p>Relaxing his shoulders and posture, as Eddie was quick to pick up body language faster than anyone he knew, Bobby approached to where the two were. </p><p>The men were sitting on the couch. Their legs up against each other as the two were swapping pictures of themselves and Christopher.</p><p>Buck must have said something funny for Eddie’s usually serious face brightened up.</p><p>“Eddie, you got a quick minute?”</p><p>Bobby always tried to be open with his team when the situation is not an emergency.</p><p>“Uh yeah, Cap,” Eddie replied though his dark brows furrowed a little bit. The shorter firefighter patted Buck on the knee, a move that could easily be viewed as platonic if Buck hadn’t blushed.</p><p>Hen must have sensed Bobby wanting to discuss a serious topic with Eddie alone for she took Eddie’s place and started showing him pictures of Halloween costumes for couples. </p><p>The distraction was welcomed by both Buck and Bobby. </p><p>Bobby led Eddie into the kitchen and poured two cups of coffee. By habit of seeing his crew at all hours of the day, he knew who wanted what in their coffee.</p><p>Eddie had two caps of heavy cream while Bobby poured a small amount of half and half along with a packet of honey. </p><p>He gestured to Eddie to where his office was and they both sat down on the chairs in front of his desk.</p><p>The door was left cracked open but everyone knew that talks in the office were off-limits for eavesdropping. In other words, they had privacy for their talks. Something that Eddie might appreciate in given how private the man could be. </p><p>“Is everything ok, Cap?” Eddie’s body was calm and still but Bobby picked up a slight tremor in the Latino man’s voice. He was a little nervous but Bobby had no idea why. He wasn’t going to fire him and those words were the first thing out of his mouth.</p><p>“Relax, Eddie. No one’s being fired. Not after the hard work you’ve put into this station. Besides, Buck will never stop harassing me about it.”</p><p>Eddie nodded and took another sip of coffee. He looked at Bobby expectantly, waiting for him to continue. </p><p>“How are things going between you and Buck?” It was a rhetorical question. Sure. But he had to start somehow other than ‘you hurt Buck, I will kill you’ phrase.</p><p>A flush began to creep on Eddie’s tanned cheeks and his eyes sparkled at the mere mention of Buck’s name.</p><p>“Uh, things are, things are going good. Great.”</p><p>“That’s…that’s good to hear. Buck, he’s been through a lot.”</p><p>Bobby didn’t have to bring up what he was talking about. He didn’t want to dredge up those awful memories of seeing Buck pinned underneath a firetruck, the blood slicking up his mouth and white-shirt at his and Athena’s party. The lawsuit.</p><p>Eddie again nodded but nothing else. This was all in Bobby’s court and Bobby kicked himself in the foot mentally as he realized that perhaps talking about someone else’s love life should have taken place somewhere casual, like a coffee shop or a bar at a nice restaurant. </p><p>Not in a captain’s office, where he could easily end his or Buck’s career with a single phone call. </p><p>“Alright, I’m not gonna beat around the bush on this,” Bobby said and Eddie sat up straighter in his chair, almost military-like. Spine straight with eyes looking right at his. </p><p>“Buck’s like a son to me,” Bobby figured Eddie would appreciate honesty more than anything else. “It hurts me to see him get hurt for any reason. Abby, Abby was the first-ever serious relationship he was in and every minute of Buck saying he was just holding onto Abby’s apartment in case she came back pained me. It was painful to watch hope fade from his eyes, as the realization that she pretty much ‘ghosted’ him came to him.”</p><p>“I know, Bobby.” Eddie’s voice was a whisper but Bobby heard it as loud as if he were sitting right next to the man. </p><p>“I’m not sure you do.” Again, honesty. Anger flared in Eddie’s eyes. Good. Bobby needed to see how Eddie would react when he laid down the cards of what Bobby saw and what Eddie experienced. “But you saw his potential to be more and I’ll forever be grateful to you for that. Buck 1.0 was a mess. He slept with every woman he rescued. Heck, I even fired him for it too. Abby helped him become a 2.0 version but her leaving him left a scar. Something that only time can heal.”</p><p>When Bobby was only met with silence, he took that as his cue to continue. </p><p>“When I initially paired you guys up, I was surprised he was so-" </p><p>“Antagonistic?” Eddie helpfully finished his sentence. </p><p>“Yes. He’s usually so outgoing with everyone. But with you, it was different. And then a bomb happened.”</p><p>Both of them laughed a little bit and they relaxed a little bit.<br/>
“And after that, Buck acted differently.”</p><p>“Maddie was telling me it was a crush of some sort.” Eddie’s eyes took on a far-away look as if the firefighter was reminiscing the scene of their bonding moment.</p><p>“You could say that, sure. But as time went by, it became something more. And better than what he had with Abby. Because you know why?”</p><p>Again, more silence but Eddie’s posture was lax and he wasn’t fingering the handle of his mug – a fidget that Eddie had when the man was nervous or worried. </p><p>“Because you would not leave Buck like that. You would have the balls to tell that man your thoughts on him, whether you or he would be interested or not even interested in being in a relationship. For all of us watching you two dancing around each other, it was both amusing and difficult to watch. Amusing because both of you are like pining idiots in high school. And difficult because I saw both of you go through so much together and I was afraid that you would leave him high and dry. That you would bring him into your family only to leave him behind. And that, that is something I don’t want to see. Because that would put him over the edge. So, I have to ask and I’m sure Athena is going to grill you as well so think of this as a practice run. What are your intentions with Buck?”</p><p>It was a loaded question and Bobby knew it might take Eddie a few minutes to collect himself before answering.</p><p>Eddie only took a minute and the man looked straight at him, the laughter gone from his eyes. </p><p>What replaced it was a focus, a certain soft longing that could only be found in couples who had been married for ages.</p><p>He got his answer well before Eddie opened his mouth. </p><p>Whatever Eddie said after that, well, that was something for Buck’s ears only and Bobby’s doubts that clawed at him at the beginning of the conversation ebbed into a certainty he hadn’t known for a long time when Buck was involved. </p><p>When the alarm rang again, its harsh clanging rings echoing even in the captain’s office, Bobby got up and gathered the man in a hug before letting him go and patting him on the shoulder. </p><p>There were no more words spoken. Only an understanding and an appreciation that both men were looking out for Buck in their own way. </p><p>Now, as he followed Eddie out of the office and down to the firetrucks, Bobby could only smile at Buck throwing Eddie a concerned glance before darting his blue eyes at him. Eddie said something, too quiet for Bobby to hear from a distance, but whatever he said prompted another beaming smile from the taller man.</p><p>It was a good look for Buck and Bobby knew that Eddie was it for him. Now, Eddie just has to survive Athena’s interrogation.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So what do you think? Predictions? Opinions? </p><p>Let me hear them! :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Eddie</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Eddie loves the way Buck looks at him - open and soft, with blue eyes that tell him everything the blonde is feeling. </p><p>And right now, with the way the blue is swallowed up by the black pupils, Buck is feeling pretty desperate for Eddie.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, having a family with sick people is not the best way to end a week but it is what it is. </p><p>The chappie is longer than the previous one so hopefully that'll satiate the Buddie addiction till next time!</p><p>So here it is: a lot of fluff and smut, which probably should be read at home. :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So, it only took you two years to get with that young man,” Pepa sounded so smug and Eddie stuffed his mouth with his Abuela’s tamales to avoid answering her. When she was still looking in his direction, well after a minute or two, Eddie knew he had to answer her, one way or another. Otherwise, he’d end up either choking to death on food or be stuck with the after-party clean-up.</p><p>“Tia,” Eddie hated how his voice whined but it was the only defense he got, which was pretty pathetic for a veteran.</p><p>Tia thought so too. An ‘I know you better than that’ expression on her weathered face told Eddie that that attitude wasn’t going to fly by her. </p><p>So, he chewed his food as quickly as he could without choking and blushed like a high school teenager. </p><p>“He’s very good to you and Chris. Treats you better than that gringa ex,” Tia wasn’t looking at him as she spoke. The quick taps of the kitchen knife were easy to hear, even over the ambient salsa music and the chattering of Pepa’s family and friends who swung by for her birthday celebration. </p><p>Buck was always helping Eddie and his family with something – from simple clean-up to engineering a skateboard scaffold. As of now, Eddie could see the unmistakable tall figure easily moving between people, smiling and asking if they needed anything.</p><p>At one point during his and Tia’s conversation, he caught sight of Buck joking around with his sisters, Sophia and Adriana. Both siblings managed to find time off to fly down to California and Eddie was glad to see that his tumultuous relationship with their parents hadn’t affected the connection with each other. </p><p>In fact, it made their sibling bond even stronger, with Sophia and Adriana often face timing him once a week. Heck, even Buck had talked to them a lot and Eddie would find it amusing to sometimes hear them talk of fashion and engineering. The middle sister, Sophia, was in her junior year at Texas Tech and had asked Buck on numerous occasions for advice on which engineering courses to take and what career she wanted to do. </p><p>The sudden image of Buck sitting behind a desk, all suited-up, and helping a student to pick out the best career popped into Eddie’s head. He had seen Buck in a suit before but the school professor image was far warmer than the cold memory of the arbitration with that sleazy lawyer, Chase. </p><p>He had wondered if Buck had heard from that lawyer. No sane man would willingly let that loss go and, for a heart-wrenching second, as Eddie gazed at Buck’s sunny smile and handsome figure, he idly wondered if Chase was someone he would have to watch out for. </p><p>
  <em>Never leave a wolf behind to hound at your door. </em>
</p><p>It was a phrase his deceased captain was so fond of before an enemy’s bullet proved him right by entering his skull from behind. </p><p>“-die, Eddie?” </p><p>It was Buck calling him, the tall figure easily filling out the door that led the kitchen to the patio outside where the party was. Eddie blinked his eyes, to catch those warm baby blues peering down at his in slight concern. </p><p>“Hey man, you ok?” A warm hand grasped his shoulder, the grip strong and comforting.</p><p>“Yeah, just thinking,” Eddie said. </p><p>Tia was also looking at him and then her lips smirked before she winked at him and promptly left the two men in her kitchen, alone. Buck, seemingly satisfied with whatever he found in Eddie’s eyes, stepped back and popped in the desert Tia made before she left them.</p><p>“Hmm,” Buck moaned around one of Tia’s chocolate-covered strawberries. The sound of pleasure caught at Eddie’s throat and, as he watched those full pink lips close around the red fruit, Eddie wondered if that’s how he looked while on his knees in front of Buck. </p><p>During his lover’s recovery time, the only sexual activity they could do were kissing and blowjobs. His doctor specifically stated ‘no intense sexual activity at all during the first month of recovery. Any sudden muscle spasm could undo the stitching both on the skin and in the lung.’</p><p>It was frustrating to both of them until Buck, who was a maestro at internet research, found something particularly interesting and proposed the idea to Eddie in such a Buck way.</p><p>
  <em>“What the-Buck, when the hell did you get these?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p>
  <em>Buck had placed a set of handcuffs in his hands. They looked expensive – high-quality leather bands, soft and malleable but durable. Enough to withstand a sudden pull between the wrists. The metal, stainless steel and brushed with burnished nickel, shone brilliantly in the kitchen light. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Oh, Dios…</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He was really glad that Chris was in school.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Neither Buck nor Eddie were cops and Eddie was not going to explain the multiple usages of a pair of handcuffs to a nine-year-old.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I, uh, figured I could wear those while we’re in bed or on the couch,” Buck said in such a casual tone. As if he weren’t offering himself to be bound, to allow Eddie to control his body in any way he sees fit. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>And it was such a fucking turn on that, within minutes, Eddie found himself laying on the bed, with Buck’s body pinned underneath his. He had tried to stretch the younger man’s arms out and towards the headboard but immediately abandoned the idea at the way Buck hissed in pain. He settled for cuffing the wrists at the small of Buck’s back, earning a low whimper from his lover.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Soft moans could be heard from above him and as Eddie’s lips slipped over the crown of Buck’s cock, Buck’s body strained underneath his arms, which acted as solid bands of muscles around trembling thighs. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“…Eddie…c’mon, please, please…”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He loved the way Buck would lose himself like this – how the younger man was so carefree in his display of emotions and sexual pleasure. Blue eyes gazed at him hazily, pupils blown wide so much that Eddie could only see the black. The younger man’s entire frame was shaking, not just his thighs, and Eddie wondered if this was pushing it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As his head bobbed up and down, his eyes were riveted to Buck’s face, searching and cataloging every reaction to his movements. A flutter of his tongue against the frenulum would cause Buck to bite down on his lip. Long fingers rubbed those gorgeous dusky nipples between them, rolling the delicate flesh sensually and resulting in Buck arching his head back. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>A few more rolls of those nipples, paired with another deep suck, had Buck coming into the condom. Eddie will have to file that particular reaction later. </em>
</p><p>The memory of how Buck’s eyes squeezed shut as he climaxed sent a jolt of arousal through Eddie. Coupled with the goddamn vision of the way those lips wrapped around the strawberry, Eddie dug his nails into his hands, letting the pain wash away the want, the need to push Buck into the nearest wall, and worship the teasing idiot on his knees.</p><p>Another soft groan from Buck had Eddie open his eyes. When had he shut them?</p><p>He saw Buck wear a teasing smirk. </p><p>The damned tease. Buck knew exactly what he was doing.</p><p>The taller blonde leaned into him, his long torso easily bending over the kitchen island and giving Eddie all sorts of dirty thoughts. </p><p>Buck brushed his lips against a shell of an ear and Eddie’s knuckles went white as Eddie gripped the edge of the countertop.</p><p>“People are about to gather around outside. Care to come?”</p><p>That’s what Eddie should have heard but the only word his lust-addled brain caught was ‘come.’</p><p>Before Eddie could grab at the man’s jaw and crush their mouths together, Buck leaned back and walked around Eddie, a hand brushing Eddie’s hip innocently. To any outsider, it would have looked like a simple pat on the hip. But to Eddie, it was a fucking taunt. A challenge. </p><p>Dios, he’s gonna make Buck pay for this.</p><p>-o0o-</p><p>Several weeks later, Buck was given a green light from the doctor. It was mainly for Bobby but Buck’s boundless energy and the man shoving the papers in front of Eddie after the two stumbled their way into Eddie’s empty house told the older man that the dramatic flair was for him. </p><p>The tease that Buck did at Pepa’s house came at the forefront of Eddie’s mind.<br/>
As soon as Eddie felt the coarse doctor’s orders in his hands, he scanned the papers and zeroed in on ‘cleared for firefighter duties to the full capability of such a professional.’</p><p>It was as if a green light had gone off in his head and Buck seemed to be in tune with him, already guessing what he needs, which is to rut like teenagers and lick into each other’s mouths like starving men. </p><p>Or perhaps it was Eddie starving for Buck. Like a drowning swimmer craving oxygen and finally being able to breathe upon reaching the surface of the ocean. </p><p>Except Eddie would willingly drown in the ocean of Buck. He would forever want to get lost in the deep blue depths. </p><p>“Que hermoso,” he breathed against Buck’s lips, his fingers trailing down the length of Buck’s back before clamping tight unto the muscular buttocks.</p><p>Eddie wasn’t sure how they managed to get to the bedroom without falling over. He was too busy kissing Buck, his tongue licking inside and combing the depths of his partner’s mouth.</p><p>Buck was just as eager as well. The blonde laughed a little at how Eddie didn’t want to leave Buck’s mouth.</p><p>Once Eddie realized that Buck couldn’t go further, having backed against his bedroom mattress, he pushed Buck forward, lips smirking at how Buck landed on his hands and knees. </p><p>Buck wasn’t even trying and he was already setting his blood on fire. </p><p>The tight slacks didn’t leave much to the imagination as the satin hugged those shapely cheeks. Fuck, he just wants to rip those pants off and fuck him. </p><p>It was a good thing they talked about this step well before tonight for Eddie knew that Buck needed extra preparation. Hell, Buck was teaching him all the stuff two guys could do together. While Eddie had been straight all his life, he had been open to other avenues. Just not in relationships and he’d never really had time to fumble once he met Shannon. </p><p>And so, Eddie quickly unbuckled his pants before draping himself over the long stretch of peachy skin and lean back muscles. He let his hips press down, hard and unforgiving, and Buck thrust back. </p><p>“Fuck, your ass looks so good in these,” Eddie pressed his mouth against the nape of Buck’s neck, taking delight in the shivers his voice elicited from Buck. He leaned his weight on one hand, while letting the other tilt Buck’s chin up and towards him. </p><p>Teeth clacked as they awkwardly tried to find each other’s mouths in a comfortable fit.</p><p>When they did, all that could be heard were quiet moans and the clothes rustling as Eddie rutted against Buck’s ass.</p><p>“Eddie, I’m…I’m gonna blow if you keep doing that,” Buck wasn’t talking about the simple thrusts of Eddie’s hips. He was referring to the firm tugs at his nipple and Eddie grinned before nipping at an earlobe and dragging another breathless gasp out of Buck’s mouth. </p><p>He could make Buck come just from his nipples alone and he just might do that. </p><p>“…Eddie…c’mon…not in these…oh! Eddie…”</p><p>Eddie knew what Buck was trying to say out to him. These pants were expensive and had to be dry cleaned when dirtied. With a growl of frustration and a final pull on a different nipple, he let his hand trail down from the sternum and to the growing erection. He palmed it, dragging a finger along the edge of Buck’s clothed cock, just to be a son of a bitch. </p><p>Buck bit his lip in retaliation and Eddie laughed before finally unclasping the buckle and shoving down his pants and his silky boxers.</p><p>Without any further prompting from him, Buck turned over and kicked them off before shoving back into the middle of the bedroom. A cocky grin grew on that handsome face as Eddie shimmied his way out of his own pants and briefs. </p><p>Eddie let his eyes rake over the blonde, letting the desire be visible on his tanned face. Buck’s skin was covered with a light sheen of sweat and Eddie had a sudden urge to lick it off. He just didn’t know where to start. </p><p>“You just going to look or do something about it?” Buck taunted him. The cheeky brat. One day he’s going to have to shove something in his lover’s mouth. </p><p>“Hmm, first this,” Eddie promised and he pressed his lips against Buck’s mouth. He knew not to get caught into the maelstrom of Buck’s eagerness and desire to make Eddie feel good. Lips and teeth moved down from Buck’s sinful mouth and dragged along the throat.</p><p>He knew from personal experience that the quickest way to get Buck to come was to flick the nipples at the same time as swallowing him whole. </p><p>And that’s exactly what Eddie did. </p><p>With a few weeks of practice, Eddie managed to take the entirety of Buck’s cock by relaxing his throat muscles before doing a swallow motion, letting the muscle clench tight around his lover and drawing forth a litany of moans, whimpers and a ‘yes, yes, oh fuck,’ phrases from the blonde. </p><p>The sounds made his cock twitch and jerk against his belly, the precum smearing along the skin below his navel. </p><p>He let Buck’s hips lift and he pulled back in counterpoint.</p><p>“….Eddie…please…ugh…”</p><p>Hands pulled insistently at his dark locks and thank fuck Eddie let his hair grow out for this. It pleased some animalistic side to him to have Buck clutch at him, desperate and aching for Eddie. He didn’t have to look up to know that he was being watched. He could feel the full weight of Buck’s eyes, of the cock in his mouth, a wonderful piece of molten steel with silken skin that warmed beneath his tongue. </p><p>His hands smoothed over the flanks, taking note of the smattering of scars and the areas that fluttered the most. Padded fingertips soon flicked over Buck’s nipples and, just like before, Buck cried out, his hips thrusting forward into Eddie’s mouth and staying there. </p><p>A burst of hot liquid shot out into the throat of Eddie’s mouth, making the older man cough and splutter for a second before swallowing it to avoid choking. </p><p>Buck sighed out Eddie’s mouth and the younger man fell limply against the bed.<br/>
Eddie rubbed the sides of his mouth with his hand and then hands tugged at the corners of his jaw, urging him to move up. </p><p>He went willingly and, in a mimicry of what he wanted to do with Buck, licked at Buck’s lips a couple of times before pinching a hard nipple. </p><p>Those pink lips opened up for him and Eddie devoured him, wanting to relish in the sweet, breathless gasps from the blonde. Buck was pliant and relaxed, a perfect state to come together and just the way Eddie likes him to be in. He pulled back, taking in the soft, almost dopey way Buck gazed at him. In a move that impressed Buck with the way the man’s eyes widened in surprise, he flipped them over, to where Eddie’s back laid against the hard wall, and Buck’s knees had spread and planted themselves in the soft sheets.</p><p>“It’ll be better if you ride me,” Eddie’s voice was raspy and hoarse. “Lets you have more control,”</p><p>“Hmm, my Eddie,” Buck licked into his mouth again, tongues slipping and dancing around each other in a sensual embrace. It had Eddie’s blood going again, except this time, further south, only to pool in his groin. “Thinking of me first.”</p><p>Before Eddie could correct the blonde that he would always consider Buck first, along with Chris, Buck reached over Eddie’s chest to grab the half-empty bottle of lube that was sitting next to the lamp. With a small and almost shy smile, Buck popped open the cap and drizzled the lube all over his fingers instead of Eddie’s. </p><p>“Sit up, Eddie,” Buck said to him, “I wanna show you something.”</p><p>Eddie sat up, his abdomens flexing hard at the pull of muscle and causing Buck to elicit a deep groan. He wrapped an arm around the wide chest, his face tucked right into the soft skin at the corner of the younger man’s jaw, where Buck’s smell was the strongest, while he scotched back until he was resting comfortably against the wall. </p><p>“Army boy,” Buck remarked in a cheeky tone. “Like taking orders, huh?”</p><p>Eddie snorted at that tongue-in-cheek comment and he scraped his teeth down Buck’s throat, delighting in the blonde’s hapless gasp as his teeth none too gently bit into the small dip above the clavicle.</p><p>“Maybe I should tie you up again,” Eddie growled and he didn’t miss the way Buck’s cock jerked against their stomachs. Or the hitch in Buck’s breath. If he’d known Buck was such a sucker for bondage, he’d have bought more sex toys for them.</p><p>For now, he’ll have to be satisfied with taking Buck apart with his bare hands and cock.</p><p>With Buck having an extra two inches over Eddie in height, the older man couldn’t see over a kiss-bitten shoulder. So, he tucked his head around Buck’s chest and looked down at that delicious swells of Buck’s ass. His breath caught at the disappearance of Buck’s fingers. He heard a slight hiss over the thrumming arousal that coursed through his veins and he didn’t have to look at Buck’s clenched jaw, to hear the teeth grind for a brief second as three fingers thrust inside Buck. </p><p>Fuck, he has to get in there and Buck being in pain with three fingers wasn’t going to work out. </p><p>To ease him along, Eddie started whispering dirty phrases against the top of a deltoidṽṽṽ, pushing the praise kink to its limit. </p><p>“You’re taking your fingers so well, mi amor.” A brief nip on the collarbone. He had Buck lean back a bit, only to drag his lips across the expanse of hot skin and muscles that fluttered and jumped underneath. </p><p>An answering rumble could be felt within Buck’s chest. Buck’s cock left twin trails of precum on their bellies and Eddie used that to coat their cocks. </p><p>“…Eddie…I…”</p><p>“I’ve got you, I’ve got you,” Eddie reassured his lover and, once both their cocks were well-lubricated in Buck’s ever-increasing amount of precum, he placed his hand on Buck’s hip while guiding his shaft into Buck’s hole with another.<br/>
He would never tire of Buck whimpering out his name, of clutching at his shoulders, the nails digging in and sure to leave crescent marks there afterwards. He loved it. It was Buck’s way of marking him, of him saying ‘mine, mine, back off.’</p><p>Eddie moaned at the wet heat enveloping his cock and it took all his strength not to clamp his hands unto Buck’s hips and push into him in one motion. </p><p>“Tan caliente y apretado,” Eddie panted, knowing full well what his Spanish murmurings would do to Buck. </p><p>There was a choked off sound, a noise caught between a moan and whimper. Buck tightened around him and there was another pained groan, this time from the blonde himself.</p><p>“Sorry,” Buck apologized and the blonde stilled, his thighs clamping tight around Eddie’s waist. “It’s been a while.”</p><p>“Tome su tiempo. Te tengo.”</p><p>Eddie kissed a nipple that was within reach and Buck’s hands, which were gripping his shoulders, shot up and tugged at Eddie’s hair, prompting Eddie to shudder and moan around a swollen nub.</p><p>The sound caused Buck’s hole to relax enough for him to push in, which prompted another deep growl from Eddie. </p><p>Soon, the two men were caught in a feedback loop – Buck would tighten and the overwhelming sensation would result in Eddie gasping and panting against Buck’s broad chest, desperate to thrust hard into Buck but couldn’t. Not yet. Not until Buck gave him permission.</p><p>Finally, his patience won out and both released a heartfelt groan at him bottoming out. Eddie wasn’t sure who was more relieved at that but he couldn’t care less.<br/>
</p><p>All he cared about was showing Buck how much he loved this man. How Buck’s effortlessly tore through the thick walls around his heart through his actions with Chris and helping Eddie in any way he could. </p><p>Dios, he loves this man…</p><p>“Go at your pace, mi amor,” his voice was thick and heavy with arousal and love. The feeling heightened every breath Buck took, every little tremor in Buck’s thighs as the blonde tentatively rose and fell, impaling himself on Eddie’s cock. </p><p>Soon, the breathtaking slow rhythm quickened as Buck’s body remembered the motions and got used to them. The way Buck was gasping and mewling out his name in the room that was getting hotter and more sweltering, in which the wet sounds of flesh slapping against flesh echoed around them, Eddie could tell that Buck was losing himself in this. Eyes shut, mouth slack, and opened. </p><p>Usually, Buck would close his eyes in his completion. </p><p>But this, this was the first time they connected like this. So deeply and intertwined in each other that Eddie couldn’t tell where he ended and Buck began. He wanted to see how those eyes would look once Buck took what Eddie would give him. </p><p>“Look at me, cariño,” Eddie’s voice was rough with the effort of holding a firefighter in his prime within his arm. “Let me see you, let me see those pretty blues.”</p><p>Eddie knew he was rambling but he was losing control. Buck always made him lose control but never in a way that makes him want to hurt him. Not like that. Rather, he wants to take Buck apart, moan by moan, until all Buck can do is tremble and shiver, until the blonde would be pliant and let Eddie do whatever he wants to him. </p><p>Buck’s eyes fluttered open and, oh, that was it. </p><p>“Eddie! Eddie!” Eddie knew that Buck wanted to close his eyes and his admiration for the blonde ratcheted up another notch when Buck’s eyes continued to latched onto his eyes. </p><p>Their focused gaze on each other intensified to the point that Eddie felt Buck tightening wonderfully around his cock. He could smell the release that now painted their bellies and dripping lower.</p><p>Buck’s body shook and trembled and Eddie caught the blonde as Buck slumped on his chest, boneless and sated. His hands splayed across the prominent shoulder blades and ass. </p><p>He thrust into Buck a few times, chasing his release in the same way he urged Buck to kiss him. To bite and nip and lick those pink lips that gave him so many wet dreams in the first year of working with the handsome man. </p><p>“C’mon Eddie. Take what you want,” Buck’s breath was sweet, a hint of mint and chocolate from the desert they had at a fancy restaurant. “Come for me,”</p><p>His lover’s voice cracked at the last phrase, turning it into a filthy rendition of Eddie’s name. </p><p>Eddie’s heart pounded in his ears and white dots danced in front of his eyes, blocking out the hot image of an arched spine and the sheen of sweat that covered Buck’s ass. He held unto Buck, forcing his cock to spasm and release inside him, the hot liquid spewing forth and marking Buck as his on the inside in the same way Buck came on Eddie.</p><p>
  <em>Mine. Mine. Mine. </em>
</p><p>His thoughts chanted and he must have said it out loud because Buck was kissing the life out of him, replying, ‘yours, yours. Always yours.’</p><p>Eddie wasn’t sure how long he floated high but when he came back to himself, Buck was sleepily nuzzling into his jaw. Somehow the blonde managed to cover their bodies, to keep their warmth from spilling out into the cooler air. </p><p>The come had dried off, leaving a sticky residue on their stomachs. He didn’t want to leave Buck’s side but knew they would both regret it in the morning if the mess wasn’t cleaned up. </p><p>“I’ll be right back,” Eddie whispered and he kissed Buck on the forehead. His chest ached at the sight of Buck curling up, his hand reaching out and touching Eddie’s lips. </p><p>Satisfied with Buck’s response and with a heavy sigh, Eddie got out of bed and padded his way to the bathroom to collect a clean towel and a dampened face cloth. The cloth felt cool as it brushed off the come from Eddie’s towel. He tossed the used material into a small laundry bin and grabbed another one.<br/>
</p><p>When he headed back into his bedroom, Buck was well-hidden underneath the covers. The only sign that he was there was a collection of blonde hairs sticking out in random directions.<br/>
</p><p>With a lot of coaxing and gentle nudging, Eddie managed to clean Buck’s belly and move the man off the covers enough to maneuver him underneath them. He sidled next to Buck and gathered the slumbering blonde into his arms, where Buck’s back pressed against his chest.<br/>
</p><p>“Love you, Buck,” Eddie breathed happily into the nape of Buck’s neck. </p><p>There was no verbal reply but the way Buck brought his left arm around the blonde’s chest and held their hands tight against his heart was good enough for him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So smut is hard to write, ok? </p><p>Thoughts? Predictions? Typos as I have no beta? Grammarly is my best friend now.</p><p>Translation (Google translate)<br/>cariño - sweetheart<br/>Tan caliente y apretado - So hot and tight<br/>Tome su tiempo - Take your time<br/>Te tengo - I have you</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Buck</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Buck realizes three things:</p><p>1. Eddie is hot all the time but especially in the early morning, all fucked out and spent against their sheets.</p><p>2. Athena can be really scary when she wants to be.</p><p>3. Family is everything and he'll do anything to protect them. Anything.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Late update but better late than never right?</p><p>First part is definitely NSFW and second part is fluff. Like I said, fluff and smut. :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Buck was an early morning riser. He loved seeing the sun in its morning glory. The soft rays of pale sunlight would give him hope that the day was going to go great.<br/>
</p><p>As his eyes fluttered open, having been stirred by the warm light that crept into Eddie’s bedroom, the first thing he became aware of was a warm back nestled close to his chest. Soft black hair tickled his nose and Buck breathed it in and let out a hum of satisfaction. </p><p>Eddie’s hair smelled of the Jack Black shampoo, a freaking expensive brand but well worth the price. Underlying it was a muskier scent of sweat and something that was inexplicably just Eddie. </p><p>Who smelled like home and it was just where Buck wanted to be – curled around the smaller man and holding him tight around Eddie’s tummy. </p><p>His fingers absently played with the tiny strands of hair that trailed down from his belly button to a nascent shaft. </p><p>Buck groaned at the recent memory of that cock thrusting deep inside him and he let out a breathless sigh, his hips rolling gently against Eddie’s buttocks.</p><p>A low, throaty groan could be heard and Buck smiled at how Eddie answered him by pushing back into him. </p><p>He wondered how far he could go before Eddie wakes up and started by mouthing at the nape of his neck, with a gentle press of lips and a soft brush of the tongue. </p><p>Soft sounds encouraged him to trail down the spine. Long fingers played with the belly button before resting just in the space right below the navel, where the head of a fully engorged cock would be. </p><p>His other hand skimmed along the smooth tanned back, following the valley created by the muscles bracketing the slope of a spine.</p><p>Buck licked into the cute dimple right above an ass cheek. He smirked at how Eddie whimpered out his name and unconsciously raised a thigh upwards, opening himself up to Buck. </p><p>
  <em>Fuck…</em>
</p><p>It was so hot. Eddie with major trust issues was making himself vulnerable because he trusts Buck, even in his fucking sleep. And that both aroused and humbled Buck at the same time. However, he wanted to make sure Eddie was alright with this and he leaned over the slumbering man. He gently nibbled at an earlobe, prompting another helpless groan and Eddie’s eyes fluttering open. </p><p>Sleepy chocolate eyes looked back at him and Buck’s tongue brushed against the shell of an ear. </p><p>“Can I? Please?” Buck went straight to the point as he didn’t want to lose the haziness of early morning sex. </p><p>“Yeah, Buck.” Eddie gave him such a dopey smile, it melted Buck’s heart so much that he wanted to kiss Eddie, he wanted to devour him and show him how loved Eddie is by him.</p><p>The kiss was awkward but the way their tongues slipped into each other made it hotter than anything. He swallowed Eddie’s breathy sighs as Buck’s hand grasped the tip of a cock before shifting and taking both of them in a heated grip, eliciting a trio of ‘uh, uh, uh,’ from the older man. </p><p>Eddie jerked upwards at his nipple being pinched roughly. The older man had to tear his mouth away when Buck did it again, this time with a different hardened nub.<br/>
No, he needs Eddie like he needs oxygen. He wants to breathe it in. All of Eddie’s sounds of pleasure. They were all his and his alone. </p><p>“…Buck…” It was the last thing Eddie could say before Buck licked into him hungrily. </p><p>Buck felt the precome start to collect on top of their shafts and it was almost sinful to hear the slick of flesh slapping against flesh. To hear the growing crescendo of whimpers from Eddie, who was usually so reserved with his words. </p><p>But in the bedroom, he was vocal as hell, more so than Buck and it delighted the blonde to no end that he could put Eddie in this state. </p><p>“I fucking love it when you’re like this,” Buck murmured as he reluctantly let go of Eddie’s mouth and the blonde moaned when Eddie’s kiss-swollen lips tried to search for his, to slant with Buck’s again. “When you’re all soft and trusting. I love it when you let me in.”</p><p>And he did. </p><p>The day he saw Eddie, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to punch the man or kiss him. But the bomb happened and Buck’s brain just melted into a puddle of useless cells at the praise Eddie gave him. Honest to fucking god praise.</p><p>And Buck saw the anxious way Eddie kept glancing at his phone on the way to the hotel. He felt the trust grow between them at Eddie’s hesitant admission of having a son, of being a single dad. Buck appreciated the honesty, even more so now after knowing of Shannon’s actions. </p><p>And from there, he just wanted to give everything to Eddie. The man deserved it. He deserved more and Buck was going to do just that. </p><p>“…Buck…please…you gotta let me…” The plea roused Buck from his thoughts and Buck saw that he was just laying still. His hand still enveloped their cocks, now slippery with their precome, a thumb absently rubbing at the top and sometimes digging into the slit of Eddie’s slightly larger cock.</p><p>But Buck’s arm pinned Eddie to him, not allowing the man to even rut against the air.</p><p>A light sheen of sweat covered Eddie’s chest as it rose and fell quickly, in time with the older man’s pants and gasps. </p><p>“Hmm, just this once,” Buck promised Eddie as he nibbled on a deltoid before lifting a thigh and opening Eddie even more. </p><p>An arm reached back around him only for a hand to tug at his hair, hard and beseeching. Eddie’s other hand fisted into the sheets below them, almost tearing into them with a white-knuckled grip, especially as Buck’s thigh got in between them and slowly spread Eddie open.</p><p>The position allowed Buck to get a perfect view of Eddie’s body. </p><p>The heaving chest. The hardened nipples, swollen underneath his rough touches. Cocks, angry and red, covered in clear liquid. </p><p>His gut clenched at the vision of their cocks rutting into the air together, at the slackened jaw and open mouth. </p><p>“Fuck, you’re so hot when you get like this,” Buck said. “One day, I’m gonna eat you out with your hands tied up, as you did me the other day. But now, I’m happy to just keep you open like this. Would you like that?”</p><p>There was a raspy ‘fuck, please!’ from Eddie.</p><p>“Please what?” Buck knew full well what Eddie meant but he wanted to be a bastard because Eddie was like this when Buck was on the receiving end.<br/>
“Dios, mi amor. Solo follame ya.” </p><p>Oh, Eddie was now speaking in Spanish. He must be too far gone now.</p><p>And he obliged Eddie and he listened to every sound that the older man-made. Every gasp, every plea that was intermixed with Spanish and English. Buck soaked it all in, even as he’s three fingers deep into his lover, the way made easier thanks to their collective seed.</p><p>He nosed at the corner of Eddie’s jaw before mouthing at the tendon on the neck. Fingers tightened in his hair and heat collected low in Buck’s belly at the way Eddie shuddered upon being entered.</p><p>Their current position only allowed for long but shallow thrusts and the teasing soon had Eddie start biting at his lip. His lover trembled against him, his head falling back unto Buck’s shoulders with eyes squeezed shut and neck exposed. </p><p>“You’re more than enough for me,” Buck said. “You’re my everything, mi amor.”</p><p>If Eddie wasn’t arched back enough, he did so even more at the honest praise. He wasn’t the only one with the praise kink. Oh God, their future sessions just got a lot hotter. </p><p>Buck didn’t have time to fantasize about the future when Eddie tightened around him and it was Buck’s turn to moan as Eddie cried out his name only for it to be cut short into a choked off-moan. The way Eddie’s ass clung to his cock hastened his completion and Buck bit down at the neck, the teeth just shy of breaking skin as lighting sparked from his spine and into his chest. Heat coiled around his belly and Buck thrust in deeply, the force of it making Eddie sob from his oversensitivity. </p><p>His thigh fell and a strange lethargy overcame him, weighing him down like a heavy blanket. </p><p>He licked at the spot where he almost bit into Eddie, whose hands weakly clutched at his jaw and drew him into another open-mouthed kiss. Lazy, languid but still retaining an edge of passion, of want. </p><p>Dazed chocolate orbs gazed back at him and Buck chuckled at the hazy, fucked out expression on Eddie’s face. </p><p>“…morning to you too, Buck…” Eddie said tiredly. “I’m gonna die young if we keep doing this.”</p><p>“No mention of dying, please. I’ve used up three lives already and I want to put the rest on stand by.”</p><p>Eddie snorted at his off-handed comment and then groaned when Buck slipped out. </p><p>“Yeah, no kidding. I think I just used one of yours now,” Eddie joked and Buck gave him a middle finger as the blonde stumbled off the bed and to the bathroom only to come back with two towels and a bottle of water. Buck threw one on the bed, to which Eddie took and wiped himself down with it. “Bobby already threatened me with a ‘You hurt me and I’ll have Athena hide your body’ speech.”</p><p>“Wait, seriously?” Buck was floored by that. Bobby was like a father to him and that was before the lawsuit. Now, the captain was pretty much a father to him. The only difference was his name not being listed on Buck’s birth certificate. “Oh no, do I need to be there with you when Athena comes knocking?”</p><p>Eddie rolled his eyes and threw the towel he used to clean himself up at Buck’s face.<br/>
</p><p>Buck made Eddie swear to not tell the team that Buck could scream like a girl. </p><p>-o0o- </p><p>At a late Thanksgiving dinner, in which the 118 worked overtime and drove Buck crazy because he was constantly seeing Eddie walk in front of him, Eddie of course was telling everyone at the table of Buck screaming like a girl. </p><p>“And when Buck saw that spider,” Eddie winked at him, clearly not bothered by the deadly glare in the usually warm eyes. “He jumped unto the shower rod and screeched like a girl.”</p><p>“The spider was big and black! It could have been a Black Widow for all I know,” Buck defended himself and Bobby shook his head at his flustered gestures. </p><p>“Buck once rescued a cat from a tree and shrieked when it lunged at him.” Chimney so was not helping either and Maddie, thank God, elbowed her fiancée hard in the ribs. </p><p>“Hey!” Chimney tried to go for a hurt and indignant look but the meatballs that were stuffed in Chimney’s mouth just made the Korean’s expression comical. </p><p>“Buck loves cats. That one must have been rabid,” Maddie said and she smiled at him. He mouthed a ‘thank -you’ before stuffing himself with ham and cranberry sauce. </p><p>Christopher, the awesome kid that he is, patted Eddie on the forearm and said in a very loud voice, “Dad, can we get a cat for Buck? Maddie said he loves them.”</p><p>Eddie’s warm browns darted up to Buck and a small wistful smile tugged at the older man’s lips. </p><p>Eddie was allergic to cats and Buck knew that. Christopher knew that but the kid wanted to get something special for him. The thought warmed Buck’s heart and the younger blonde couldn’t help but curl an arm around the 9-year old boy and hugged him tightly. </p><p>“Hey, buddy. Remember, your dad’s allergic to cats.”</p><p>“I know,” Chris sighed, his eyes cast down with short brown hairs covering the top of his brows. He looked endearing and cute, even when pouting. </p><p>Buck kissed the boy in his hair and he regarded Eddie with adoration as the latter wrapped an arm around Buck and bringing the trio closer together. </p><p>Eddie leaned into Chris and whispered something in the little boy’s ear. The whisper was hushed and Buck couldn’t catch on to what Eddie was saying to Chris. </p><p>But whatever Eddie said, it perked up Chris right away. Gray eyes brightened with enthusiasm and giddiness. It made Buck entirely suspicious. He could see a joke coming. Maybe a prank pulled by both father and son.</p><p>“Buck,” Eddie said and, jeezus, the smile on that tanned face makes him want to kiss Eddie to death. It pulled at Eddie’s lips and love shone in those warm depths. Love for him. Buck would do anything to keep Eddie smiling and looking at him like that. Anything. </p><p>“Ok, lovebirds,” Hen chimed in and she lightly smacked Buck’s hand with a wooden spoon. </p><p>“Ow! What was that for?” Buck clutched at his hand and acted all wounded as if the light smack hurt him as much as getting punched in the shoulder. </p><p>“Athena needs help in the kitchen, Eddie,” Hen didn’t have to look at Eddie to get the message across. </p><p>“Oh right, I’ll be right back, you two,” Eddie slide his chair back and he ruffled Chris’s hair before placing a hand on Buck’s shoulder for a brief second. The hand squeezed and Buck’s fake hurt melted away. </p><p>As the group sans Athena and Eddie continued to eat, Buck talked to Maddie about the baby shower and if a name was chosen. He listened to his sister describe the baby’s room, a small one that used to be Chimney’s office, painted in grays to be gender-neutral. </p><p>Chimney inputted where he could, especially about the decorations of the nursery and plans for daycare and such. It was all planned out. Everything was planned out except for the actual labor and Buck asked if they had a hospital to-go bag ready.<br/>
</p><p>Both blinked at him, confused, or maybe just in awe that Buck went into a lot of research about labor and what to expect afterward. </p><p>He was just about to grill Maddie with questions of knowing which street routes to take to her assigned hospital and emergencies when the two missing members returned to the table. </p><p>Buck caught sight of a slightly pale Eddie, whose eyes were more pensive than usual and that was saying something. </p><p>“Hey, Eds,” he whispered in his lover’s ear as Eddie sat down beside Chris. “Everything alright?”<br/>
</p><p>“He’s alright, honey,” Athena answered for Eddie with a maternal look on her beautiful face. “I just gave him suggestions.”</p><p>Bobby bit into his bowl of chips loudly at that point and she glared at him. If looks could kill, Bobby would be more than six feet under just now. </p><p>“Anyway, I need to tell you something, Buck,” Athena continued as she served herself some salad and Buck’s turkey. A second serving rather and Buck couldn’t help but puff out his chest a little more. He loved cooking and his skills were improving a lot, courtesy of Bobby showing him the ropes. </p><p>He managed to get past the breakfast phase and was hitting the dinners and holiday recipes.</p><p>“You remember that group of hooligans who assaulted you and Eddie?”</p><p>Both Buck and Eddie nodded. </p><p>Who couldn’t forget those assholes? As on cue, Buck rubbed at the spot where he was shot, the area healing nicely but still rendered a little sore. It left a nice starry scar, which thankfully was small and almost not noticeable. </p><p>Eddie must have picked up on his discomfort for the brunette took his hand into his and squeezed his fingers to comfort him.</p><p>“Well, it seems they were paid to be there.” </p><p>Silence swept over the group, leeching out the cheery conversations at the table. Even Christopher had gone quiet and Buck wondered if this was appropriate for Athena to be talking about casework in front of a little boy. </p><p>“Maybe Christopher and Denny should try out the new washer tables outside,” Buck suggested and he said it so seriously that his friends were rendered speechless.<br/>
</p><p>And it was awkward but Buck didn’t want Christopher to hear the grisly details. He wanted the boy to stay innocent as long as possible. </p><p>Thank God Karen was quick on the uptake and she took the kids outside, into the sunshine and the slightly cooler breeze. Away from the ‘grown-up’ talk.<br/>
</p><p>Once the kids left the table, Athena continued. </p><p>“They said that it was Chase who hired the thug leader, which means you got a stalker, Buck.”</p><p>“Fuck me,” was all Buck could say. </p><p>Next to him, he could see Eddie’s fingers clutching at the knife in his hand. He wanted to reach out but found that his hands were doing the same thing.</p><p>“I’ve already put out a BOLO on Chase. He ain’t gonna get you or your family, Buck. Not if I can do anything about it.” </p><p>Athena’s lips were set into a determined grimace with her shoulders held back and eyes darkening as she made that promise. </p><p>It honestly was kind of intimidating to Buck. Simultaneously, worry gnawed at his insides because Chase knew about Eddie and Chris. So he might know where Eddie lives or even where Chris goes to school.</p><p>Fuck, he might have to go through his contacts again, see if his friends were available to help him out. </p><p>After all, Steve did say something about being in LA for a vacation or rather a honeymoon with the world’s most nagging blonde. It just so happens that Steve was coming in the next day and going to visit him at Eddie’s house. </p><p>
  <em>SEALs stick together, man. Even handsome drop-outs like you. </em><br/>
</p><p>“Buck, you ok?”</p><p>Buck looked up and he realized that he was close to crushing the glass in his hand. Cracks appeared around where he was holding it and they weren’t there before. </p><p>Everyone at the table gave him comforting looks and Buck swallowed at the emotions that welled up in his throat. </p><p>Chimney, Maddie, Hen. Athena and Bobby. They were all reaching out to him and he’d never felt so loved in his life till now. Chase was not going to take this away. Not over his dead body.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I had to add one of my favorite characters from another TV show here so he's been added. Or rather they've been added.</p><p>Guess which show?</p><p>Also, thoughts? Predictions? Even pet peeves?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Steve</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It's only been a few years since he last saw Buck and he would not have recognized the man now if it hadn't been for the telltale smirk and the unforgettable blue eyes. </p>
<p>This Eddie must be something to bring that certain shine to his baby SEAL and he can't wait to meet him.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A little slow on the update and I apologize!</p>
<p>I wanted to watch a season or two or three of Hawaii Five-O to study Steve's and Danny's characters. </p>
<p>And here's Steve POV instead of Athena. It's more of a filler.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Oh my god,” the blonde almost whined next to him on the airplane. “I hate airplanes. I really hate airplanes.”</p>
<p>The sight that greeted Steve McGarrett should have been comical and the former SEAL professional did get out a snicker or two before a pair of angry blues pinned him in his seat. The man’s hands were strung out, the fingers grasping at the slender chair armrests. The two men had the seats closest to the wing, which obstructed most of the view in the tiny oval window. The lack of a good view probably was behind Danny’s rising panic and Steve laid a hand on top of Danny’s smaller one. His thumb stroked alongside its counterpart, the movements soft and short. </p>
<p>Danny closed his eyes and released a shaky exhale as the pilot spoke through the PA system. </p>
<p>“Good news, everyone! We are about to land. Please make sure to have your sea tbelts buckled and secured. It’s going to be a cold day so have a jacket ready.”</p>
<p>Steve smiled at Danny’s soft ‘thank god’ for that and he continued to smile throughout the long process of getting off the plane and going through customs. </p>
<p>He knew he was smiling a lot, uncharacteristically so. Thus, he was not surprised when Danny leaned back against the wall and threw out an oddball question to get his attention. </p>
<p>“You’re smiling a lot. Why are you smiling? I’ve never seen you smile like this and for this long”</p>
<p>“I always smile like this when family is concerned,” Steve gave Danny a wry grin. </p>
<p>Though their friendship started rocky, with Steve forcing Danny to work with him on their first case in Hawaii, the two men managed to forge a bond that went beyond work. Where Their deep friendship was long, this “new” side of where they saw each other as ‘babe’ and ‘Danno’ but with heat behind it was incredibly recent and mind-blowing, especially in between the sheets. </p>
<p>“You mentioned this friend of yours before,” Danny began to say but Steve shook his head at that. </p>
<p>“He’s not a friend. More like a baby brother version of me,”</p>
<p>Danny’s eyes grew as wide as dinner plates at the revelation and then the blonde threw his head back, laughing so loud that the sound startled a few of the passer-byers. </p>
<p>“Then LA is gonna be in so much trouble. It’s bad enough with just one of you running around. But two of you? Oh my god. I wish I can say I’d pay to see that but it looks like I got a free front-seat to it.”</p>
<p>Danny always spoke a little fast whenever nerves got the best of him. </p>
<p>It’s what Steve loved the most about his partner. </p>
<p>It was just yesterday that Danny was rambling. Well, if Steve’s memory served him right, which it always did where Danny was concerned, Danny more like begged and cursed and whined at Steve constantly. Demanding him to move harder, faster, to just get a fucking move on.</p>
<p>“And look who’s here,” Steve said and his hand waved in the air, prompting a grey Jeep to turn into the nearest lane and pull up beside them. </p>
<p>Steve’s lips grew into a huge smile at the sight of a familiar face. The driver beamed back at him, the happiness of seeing an old friend evident in the shine of crystal blues and a grin that showed off perfect whites.</p>
<p>“Evan! Thanks for picking us up man,” Steve said and he embraced his friend in a huge bear hug – wide and encompassing. </p>
<p>The hug was tight and close, almost intimate. If Steve hadn’t told Danny about this handsome specimen of a man, he was pretty sure Danny would be saying an offhanded comment or two. The blonde just shook his head at the sight of two grown-ass men hugging and laughing like high schoolers getting together after a mean game of football. </p>
<p>“Steve, man, you don’t know how good it is to see you.” Buck clapped Steve on the shoulder a couple of times before stepping back and giving him some space. “And Danny, right?”</p>
<p>Danny gave Buck a polite smile and Steve watched the two men shake hands. He was admittedly a little nervous about how their first meeting would go. The taller blonde over towered Steve by a few inches at least. Standing next to Danny, however, gave the impression that Buck was a giant of a man. But it wasn’t just the height that worried Steve. No, he was anxious about their personalities because they were so similar to each other – cocky and brash and they wear their hearts out on their sleeves. While Danny tended to more of a thinker and cautious, Buck was on the opposite side of the spectrum, which was the sole reason why his baby SEAL dropped out after having passed the physical training regimen. </p>
<p>An awkward silence settled between two strangers and Steve felt it was the best time to move along, starting the conversation with a, “something’s bothering you, tell me in the car” request. </p>
<p>Buck helped pack their luggage in the back of his Jeep and he waited for everyone to settle in and buckle up before placing the Jeep into ‘D’ mode and driving off. </p>
<p>In a matter of half an hour, Steve learned the gist of Buck’s life in LA. </p>
<p>He had blind dates, with mostly women. He was a self-diagnosed sex addict with women only, which was not surprising to Steve at all. Losing a partner the way Buck did, it was not uncommon for anyone to seek relief from the pain and the loneliness in meaningless sex. </p>
<p>What shocked Steve was the lawsuit and how the 118 treated him initially. He already formulated an attack plan when Buck gave him a look that he was all too familiar with. </p>
<p>“Steve, it’s ok. No need to plan to kill my family.”</p>
<p>Steve could have sworn he heard a snicker from the back seat and he glared at Danny before turning his attention to Buck. </p>
<p>“Besides, things are a lot better now.”</p>
<p>There was a curious wistful look on Buck’s face. Like the man was reminiscing about a romantic affair. Oh wow. His little Bucky has all grown-up now. </p>
<p>“It’s Eddie, isn’t it?” Steve’s question was rhetorical but he wanted to see the flicker of emotion fly across Buck’s face. To see if Buck was able to get past his first love to even attempt at making another pass on a man. </p>
<p>“Uh yeah. Wow, Steve, you can be fucking scary when you want to be,” Buck’s eyes looked at him briefly before facing the busy highway. </p>
<p>“Anyway, there’s something I need your help with,” Buck’s voice became rough and his tone lost all the giddiness of talking to a big brother of sorts. It was a turning point in the conversation and Steve listened, taking in mental notes of this Chase dude and formulating all possible scenarios. </p>
<p>Chase drugging Buck perhaps and kidnapping him. </p>
<p>Or do the same but to Buck’s loved ones. </p>
<p>If there was a kid involved, which according to Buck, there is, then that complicated matters. Thankfully he had experience rescuing children from his and Danny’s enemies. </p>
<p>Danny had gone silent back there and Steve glanced back, only to see hard blues glaring at a spot in front of them. Maybe he should let Danny take the backseat on this case. It would be too close to home as Grace was recently abducted and Danny lost his marbles for a hot hour before regaining his senses. </p>
<p>As Steve watched Buck’s face, looking for a subtle twist of the lips or the slight flicker of emotion, the former SEAL had a hunch that Buck wouldn’t fare well if this Christopher was taken. He prayed to God that it wouldn’t happen. </p>
<p>-o0o-</p>
<p>They arrived at Buck’s loft and Danny whistled at all the modern appliances and décor. </p>
<p>It screamed expensive and Steve wondered just how much this place was. There was no way Buck could afford this on his firefighter salary alone. No fucking way. </p>
<p>“Buck?” A male voice called out from above and the three men glanced upwards to see where the voice was coming from. </p>
<p>A young man, probably in his early thirties, ducked his head out of the bathroom and Steve thought, Oh, that must be Eddie.</p>
<p>The guy carries himself with quiet confidence and there’s a military swagger to his steps as Eddie walked down the steps and greeted both he and Danny with a polite nod and a firm handshake. </p>
<p>Steve couldn’t help himself when he squeezed Eddie’s hand a little harder and held on a little longer than necessary.</p>
<p>Eddie, to his credit, didn’t flinch at all. He just smiled back and gave Buck a gentle kiss on the cheek before going to the fridge and taking four bottles of beer. <br/>Fucking awesome. </p>
<p>“Army man, 131ST division?” Steve asked Eddie after a quick swig of the amber ale. <br/>“Yeah,” Eddie’s eyes darkened and Steve inwardly cursed at himself when Eddie looked even more guarded now. Eddie is important to Buck. Because Buck didn’t date guys. Steve is pretty sure Buck had stopped fucking guys ever since Mexico. “Sergeant. You?”</p>
<p>“Navy SEAL,” Steve replied casually as if he was just telling someone his name and phone number. </p>
<p>“And there goes the awkwardness of strangers,” Danny quipped. “This beer tastes really good, man. Where’d you get this?”</p>
<p>“Local microbrewery. Stout and won the best taste award.” Steve smiled as Buck chatted on and on about how he found out about the beer and its many flavors. It was Eddie who first introduced him to the label and Steve saw Eddie’s brown eyes softening at Buck’s mention of his name. He also saw how Eddie had his body angled outwards, his foot placed in front of Buck’s. </p>
<p>Protective. </p>
<p>That’s what warmed Steve up to Eddie. Because he was also doing it, right now with Danny, even in the comforts of Buck’s home. It was just an instinct to protect a loved one and Steve found himself relaxing. </p>
<p>He leaned against the kitchen counter, his body still pressed alongside Danny’s flank and thigh. If Danny noticed his relaxed state, the short blonde detective didn’t say anything. </p>
<p>“So this is a pretty sweet bachelor pad,” Danny said and Steve chuckled at the way Buck’s baby cheeks flushed. Considering how close Eddie was standing next to Buck, Steve figured Buck was no longer a bachelor. Danny knew too but leave it to his handsome detective to point out the obvious.</p>
<p>“Yeah, let me show you around,” Buck offered and Steve shook his head at Buck, watching the giant of a man easily over tower Danny as the firefighter lead the way. </p>
<p>Eddie nursed the bottle in his hand, his thumb rubbing along the side in short measured strokes.</p>
<p>“Heard a lot of things about you, Eddie,” Steve said to Eddie. </p>
<p>The brunette took another swig of the beverage before answering. “Yeah? Hopefully good things.”</p>
<p>“Hmm. Some good, some bad,” Steve replied and if he sounded a little intimidating, so be it. He was protective of his family and Buck counted as amongst the closest, right below Danny and the original Hawaii Five-O team.</p>
<p>Eddie turned to regard him, cool brown eyes leveled with his and grip relaxed on the bottle. Good, he got the other firefighter’s attention. </p>
<p>“He told me how he was treated throughout the lawsuit,” Steve murmured as the Navy SEAL didn’t want Buck to overhear him threatening Eddie. “And that he felt lonely.”</p>
<p>“I know,” Eddie said so quietly that Steve almost didn’t hear him. The brunette looked down at his feet, probably finding his shoes way more interesting to look at than Steve’s face. Steve waited for the other man to continue, to see what kind of man he is. “And I’m not going to leave him again.”</p>
<p>Steve nodded and then he closed in on Eddie, a hand gripping a shoulder and eyes pinning Eddie’s brown eyes in place. </p>
<p>“Because if you do, there’ll be nothing left of you for even the crows to find.”</p>
<p>“Appreciate the warning, Steve,” was all Eddie said and that was enough for Steve. </p>
<p>That was enough.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I may have butchered Steve's character. *Runs and hides*</p>
<p>As always, comment and kudos literally keep me going. I love you all!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Buck</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>What worried Buck the most was not if they could stop Chase but what the fallout could be. </p><p>After all, Steve tended to be absolutely reckless by himself and, teamed up with Buck, well, it could be that both Danny and Eddie would bond real quick over beers and complaints about their recklessness.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So fluff and smut in the beginning (NSFW for sure!) followed by a meeting with another close friend that Buck missed over the years.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“That’s three times I’ve been threatened,” Eddie almost grumbled, his voice barely audible over the hissing of the shower as it rained down upon them. </p><p>Buck didn’t answer. He merely kissed Eddie on a shoulder, ignoring the fact that it still had soap on it and he should probably wash it away. </p><p>“If it makes you feel any better,” Buck said as he pressed more kisses along the neck and pulling breathy sighs instead of huffed complaints from his lover. “I had three of your ladies do that to me, on the same day. Your Abuela and Pepa are pretty scary when they can be.”</p><p>Eddie laughed at that. His whole body shook as the laughter rumbled from his chest and out of his throat. Buck relished in the way his eyes crinkled at the ends, at how loose the man’s shoulders were and the tilt in those lips. </p><p>“Who was the third one? Sophia? Adriana?”</p><p>“Sophia. She, uhh, she figured it out when we face timed about the whole college thing.”</p><p>Eddie turned around and Buck couldn’t keep a groan in at the loss of the warm ass that was resting against his cock.</p><p>“Wait, you were talking to my sister about me? Us?”</p><p>Eddie’s face had that incredulous expression plastered on his face. It looked comically out of place when Eddie was usually so open to Buck. </p><p>“In my defense,” Buck said quickly, not sure how Eddie would take it about Buck talking to his middle sister of all things about romance, with Eddie. “She said to go for it, for you, but she’ll cut out my heart and make me eat it if I hurt you.”</p><p>“Huh,” Eddie pulled a face, and Buck, for a hot second, thought Eddie was going to slap him or something. He didn’t know why. Eddie had never hit him but the oldest brother tends to be very protective of their sisters. “That does sound like her.”</p><p>And Eddie pulled another face, an expression that Buck caught on as jealousy.</p><p>“Are you jealous?” Buck teased Eddie and something unfurled in his chest at the slight twitch of Eddie’s eyes. If Buck didn’t know better, Eddie appeared to be going into a mild seizure. </p><p>“No!” Eddie did slap him then, but with a very cold washcloth and Buck’s body jolted out of the shock of the cold feeling meeting with the hot water.</p><p>“Fuck! Eddie!” Buck pretended to be angry but his smile was too big for the heat to behind his anger. Eddie smirked at him and closed a hand around the nape before crushing their lips together.</p><p>The wet softness of those lips pressed hard against his had Buck moaning and he wrapped an arm around Eddie, bringing their bodies closer until it was all Buck could do but press his skin into Eddie’s, to feel that undeniable heat of his lover. </p><p>Steam from the hot shower curled around them, fogging up the glass door and the mirrors.</p><p>Hips rolled into him, a sensual motion that never failed to elicit whispered pleas from Buck for ‘more, more.’</p><p>Eddie mouthed at his jaw, his hand roving down from his neck and ending at the swell of his ass. It squeezed his ass cheek, hard and unforgiving, and Buck’s mouth opened, gasping out Eddie’s name. </p><p>A slick tongue slithered between his opened lips and brushed against his, initiating a mimicry of what Buck wanted Eddie to do to him.</p><p>He wanted that spearing tongue on him, in him, whatever way that caused his flesh to shiver, even in the hot shower. </p><p>Buck lost a sense of time, distracted by wet kisses and strong hands that pulled and gripped at him in the right places. </p><p>“Turn around for me, mi amor,” Eddie whispered and Buck did as he told, bringing his hands up to hold his weight against the cool tiled wall. His body was facing away from the shower and Buck groaned as the water splashed in steady drops all along his lower back and buttocks. </p><p>He wondered what Eddie had in mind until fire coated his mind and he let out a surprised ‘ugh!’</p><p>Eddie had gone down on his knees, his face tucked between his muscular ass cheeks and hands clamped hard on the sharp hipbones. Soft delicate flesh soothed the sharp bite and Buck panted, his chest heaving and thighs quivering as he was made into a willing puddle of goo, pliable and wanting in Eddie’s hard grip.</p><p>“Eddie…nnghh…ugh…”</p><p>He shifted his stance, opening his legs wider and allowing for Eddie to fully settle in. A murmured sigh of ‘Buck’ barely reached Buck’s ears as all the blonde could hear were the soft splatters of water and someone whimpering. </p><p>A flush covered his face and chest when Buck realized that the whimpering sounds were coming from him. He bit into his forearm, trying to quieten his sounds of pleasure. </p><p>The fire stopped suddenly and a body draped over him, the heat covering him in a delicious blanket of warmth and hot skin. Sharp teeth nipped at his ear and Buck’s cock jerked against his stomach.</p><p>“I want to hear everything,” Eddie growled and a hand petted his cock, the index finger dragging itself from his hole to the tip. </p><p>“What about my neighbors?”</p><p>“Fuck ‘em. I want to hear you.”</p><p>His cock stiffened even harder and Buck swallowed, not trusting himself to even squeak out a reply. He just nodded and took his forearm away, letting it lay parallel to the wall instead. </p><p>“Good, now keep your hands there, you hear?” Eddie’s Texan accent was coming out, letting Buck know that the older man was just as affected by this as Buck was.</p><p>And it didn’t take long for Eddie to wreck Buck. It didn't take long for him feel like he was drowning, all breathless and trying to ground himself in the forceful and commanding way that Eddie took control of his body, of his own fucking breath.</p><p>He felt hot and cold at the same time, the dual sensation brought on by a wicked tongue that was busy spearing into his body and licking at him the way, a starved man would wolf down his food. Except Eddie was the wolf and he was the willing prey. </p><p>His thighs shook and he would have fallen to his knees were it not for the hot bands at his hips, forcing him to stay up.</p><p>He was rambling, he knew, nonsensically. Mono sllyable words because sentences were too difficult to think, much less say. His head bowed down and he just happened to see not only his heaving chest and his hard cock jutting out but Eddie’s also. It was full, thick, and as hard as he’s seen it before when he would swallow him whole. </p><p>Eddie must have sensed he was looking at their cocks for the older man gently took him in a warm, wet hand. Long fingers slid down his shaft in slow, torturous strokes, set at a pace that was mind-numbing and always resulted in Buck’s hips thrusting forward, wanting those fingers to touch him where he wanted the most. </p><p>Eddie ignored his attempts and Buck was about to protest at the sudden loss of Eddie’s hands and tongue when a finger slicked its way in without preamble. He hissed and jerked forward, the pain taking away the fog of pleasure that threatened to overtake his senses. </p><p>A husky apology pressed into his skin, followed by the sound of a cap popping open and closed. And there was a presence again, except this time, a lubed finger pushed into him, slow and steady and fucking maddening. </p><p>Another hand, also slicked in lube, grasped at his cock, and Buck’s moans, once low and soft, soon became high and reedy. His fingers wanted to dig into the tile but instead slipped uselessly. A breath caught in the back of his throat at a pressure of a different kind pushing against the rim of his hole before finally slipping inside.<br/>
Buck’s eyes rolled up and his jaw slackened at Eddie filling him up, slow but relentless, never stopping in its course until Eddie couldn’t move anymore.</p><p>Fuck. He needs. He needs to touch himself. His cock was so hard and full that all it would take to come would be a simple stroke on him. </p><p>But Eddie covered his hands with his, almost possessively, and teeth bit into the nape of his neck. </p><p>The slight pain added an edge to his pleasure and Buck’s hips bucked backward, his body asking for more when his mouth refused to work properly. </p><p>Eddie answered it by pulling out slowly and then snapping his hips forward, causing a deep ‘ugh!’ to fall from his lips. The sudden movement almost caused his feet to slip and Eddie stopped again. </p><p>
  <em>Keep fucking my brains out. Even if I fall. I trust you to catch me.</em>
</p><p>That’s what Buck intended to say. </p><p>“No, no, please, please!”</p><p>“Not gonna let you fall. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”</p><p>Eddie always knew what to say to him. With Buck, he wasn’t afraid to talk to him despite his unwillingness to talk to others unless it was necessary.</p><p>And Buck trusted him, just as Eddie trusted him. </p><p>Eddie gathered Buck’s wrists together and gripped them tightly with a hand while he embraced Buck with his other arm, which wrapped around his abdomen and held him against an equally heaving chest. </p><p>Buck groaned, knowing how much strength was used to hold his weight up and fuck did that not turn him on even more now.  He cried out when Eddie pushed into him again and set a slow but deep pace until it gradually grew faster and faster. </p><p>He couldn’t move much, maybe except to bend down just an inch or two. Thick thighs bracketed him and he was pinned, caged within Eddie’s arms, with the biceps bulging out in the effort of doing so. </p><p>A sob wrenched itself out of his lungs when Eddie slowly bent him down further and the angle allowed a deep thrust to drag hard against his prostate. </p><p>“Eddie, baby, more, please, so good,” Buck rambled ineloquently. He was babbling continuously, not hearing but feeling Eddie’s words of adoration, of the man telling him how good he was and, god, did those praises do wonders to him. </p><p>His back was starting to develop that dull ache, a burning feeling until it crawled up his spine. It filled his lungs and Buck gave a startled cry of ‘Eddie!’ as teeth bit into his neck and fingers lightly brushed along his cock, with a thumb digging into his slit. </p><p>His whole body jolted and he clenched hard around the thick cock inside him, wrenching out a deep growl from Eddie, whose hips thrust erratically against his ass.</p><p>Buck was still caught in the throes of his orgasm when heat spurted deep inside him, and he moaned at the way Eddie thrust hard and deep into him as if trying to burrow himself into Buck’s body and stay there. His legs felt like lead, useless, and heavy. </p><p>His body sagged in Eddie’s grip, fully trusting the older man to catch him. </p><p>Eddie’s hand stopped stroking his cock, with the older man knowing how oversensitive he becomes after their coupling. His hand grazed over his stomach, sticky with fresh come, and then cupped his jaw, only to tilt it up and to the side. </p><p>Buck sighed into Eddie’s mouth and he let him kiss his breaths away and distract him from the eventual pulling-out. All that got out of Buck was a hitched breath and then a satisfied hum. </p><p>“Damn,” Buck finally managed to say, having enough coherency to start thinking once the haze of completion drizzled away. “You can always take me. I’m never gonna say no to this.”</p><p>Eddie barked out an easy laugh and eased Buck around, taking care to keep a hand on his elbow should he slip and fall. </p><p>The way Eddie took care of Buck, even in taking showers together, made his chest ache. It left him wanting for more and, from Eddie’s eyes gazing at him with soft heat and adoration shining in their dark depths, the feeling was very much mutual. </p><p>-o0o-</p><p>While Buck would have loved to spend the entire day with Eddie, the older man took another shift out of a previous arrangement to allow for the day before Christmas off.</p><p>It was thankfully only a 12 – hour shift and Buck trusted the 118 team, even those on the opposite shifts as them. Eddie was a knowledgeable medic as well as a capable firefighter. He wouldn’t have any problems working alongside a different team.</p><p>And it allowed him to focus on his big brother and his newly minted husband.</p><p>His phone buzzed on the table and Buck grinned at the caller ID that came up.</p><p>“Hey bro,” Buck answered. </p><p>“Hey, man,” Steve’s voice came in. “You free today? Black snake is in town and wants to meet with us.”</p><p>“What?! Are you fucking serious? He said he wasn’t going to be in till tomorrow,” Buck’s excitement made his voice shrill and Buck could feel the amusement coming through the phone. There was another voice talking, rather loudly and in jest. </p><p>“Ok, he’s not the like that other guy 10 years ago. Trust me,” Steve said to the other person. “He’s more dangerous.”</p><p>Buck couldn’t help but shake his head at Danny’s quick retort of something, the words too far away to be heard on the phone. The tone, however, had Buck guess that Danny was not at all pleased with that reassurance. With the way the blonde was talking fast, it sounded exasperated and frustrated all wrapped up in Danny’s voice. </p><p>“Geez, you guys argue like an old married couple,” Buck teased. </p><p>“We are married, Yellow wolf,” Steve bit back. But he didn’t say Buck’s name. Steve hadn’t said any of their given names. Just the codes given to each other back in the Navy SEAL days. Which meant that Steve was unto something and he didn’t want to be overheard over the phone.</p><p>Fuck. </p><p>Does that mean his phone was wiretapped somehow? When? He did recall going to a restaurant several months ago, before the incident, and the waitress was kind enough to return it to him. </p><p>Goddamn it.</p><p>That happened only a day before Hen’s celebration. </p><p>“Smooth dog, meet me in an hr now where I first saw myself.”</p><p>“Understood.”</p><p>Buck ended the call quickly, knowing that Steve got the point. </p><p>Goddamn it. Goddamn it. </p><p>If his phone was wiretapped, then that meant Chase or whoever he hired heard everything. All the conversations with Eddie and Chris. With Maddie and the rest of the 118. Shit, shit. </p><p>
  <em>Take your emotions down a notch, Yellow wolf. They ain’t gonna help ya out there.</em>
</p><p>It was a voice he hadn’t heard in a long while and the familiarity of it made his breath stop.</p><p>Flashes of a handsome face etched beautifully in the stark moonlight, appeared in his memory, where he kept the deepest hurt inside. </p><p>
  <em>Evan J, c’mon. What I meant is to slow your breathing and cool. </em>
</p><p>And that’s what he focused on. He took a deep breath, waited 3 seconds, and then breathed out in controlled measures. After doing that for a few minutes, his heart was no longer thudding loudly in his ears. His thoughts stopped racing across his mind and an idea popped into his head, something Steve would probably give a thumbs up too. </p><p>An hour later, he met up with Steve and Danny, their figures welcoming and wreathed in sunlight as the sun had moved to its midday position. They all stood by the sign that welcomed visitors to the Santa Monica National Park.</p><p>“Holy fuck!” Buck swore at the sight of a third person standing so casually next to Steve, his posture slouched and he had hands shoved deep into a set of pockets. </p><p>“Eliot?! Oh my, oh my god!”</p><p>“Evan, glad to see you still alive, man.” Eliot looked good, considering all the crap he had to deal with in the past few years as well. “How’s the leg? The screws out finally?”</p><p>The thirty-something-year-old man sported a long-sleeved light shirt and cargo pants with so many pockets that Buck thought he might be looking at a real-life version of Batman. Considering how Eliot was a former US Black Ops soldier, Buck didn’t doubt that Eliot could be Batman without breaking a sweat.</p><p>“Yeah, doc said they were probably causing the clots in the first place.”</p><p>“Are you still on blood thinners?” Concern showed in Eliot’s calm eyes.</p><p>“Nope. Given the all-clear.”</p><p>“Good. Otherwise, you’re going to be hurting a lot more.”</p><p>“They’re worth it.”</p><p>It was a simple truth. Eddie and Christopher were worth more than his own life itself.<br/>
Buck noticed that Danny’s eyes were pinched and the shorter man, who was now dwarfed by all the tall and tough former military professionals, was rubbing the sides of his temples with a sigh of exasperation.</p><p>“Ok, Steven,” Danny did another sigh and Buck quirked an eyebrow at Steve, who shrugged his shoulders in response. “If this is going to be another reckless plan, where it involves multiple people shooting at you, please, please, for the love of God, just let me watch your six.”</p><p>“Steven?” Eliot had a smug grin on his face and Buck knew he was mirroring Eliot’s shit-eating smile as well.</p><p>“Don’t start, Dr. Wes,” Steven retorted which earned a momentary raising of the eyebrows and a low whistle coming out of Eliot’s lips.</p><p>“Hey now, your man started this,” Eliot bit back but there was no malice behind his tone. “Anyway, I got you a new phone, Buck. Figured yours was hacked into as soon as Steve called me again.”</p><p>Eliot handed him a slim Galaxy phone and Buck whistled when he realized that it was the newest model – the Samsung Galaxy S20. </p><p>“I-I can’t take this,” Buck stammered. It was new and expensive, easily around $1000 and that was just the basic model.</p><p>“Just shut up and take it,” Eliot growled at him. “Besides, think of it as 3 years’ worth of missed Birthdays and Christmases. Anyway, it’s got top of the line encryption layered in the software. No way a sleazy lawyer can have that or even hire someone to hack into it. And if he did, well, my boy can undo that in seconds.”</p><p>“Your boy?”</p><p>“Fuck, did I say that?” </p><p>“Is this who I think it is?” Buck had an inkling of who but he wanted to hear it from the tough-as-nails Eliot, a man who spent years in the Delta force and had a rough exterior hiding a big soft heart. </p><p>“Yes and don’t say, ‘I told you so,’ Yellow wolf.”</p><p>Ouch. Back to the military code names. </p><p>“After this craziness is over with,” Danny interrupted their banter, “we’re going to talk about how you all come up with these inane monikers.”</p><p>“Huh?” Eliot’s eyes blinked while Steve’s eyes rolled in mock irritation at the blonde’s way of showing off his more educated upbringing than his current audience.</p><p>“He means,” Buck said before Steven could say something that could result in being punched in the face by his partner, “we get beers and spill our darkest secrets after this.”</p><p>“Oh, well, why didn’t you say so?”</p><p>“That’s what I did,” Danny said. “Do you macho military men not listen? You have ears, so use them unlike this guy right here.”</p><p>“Fuck, Smooth dog,” Eliot laughed out loud. “You got yourself a mouthy one there. Alec will get along well with you.”</p><p>“Alec? Who’s Alec?” Danny looked confused and Buck felt a little sorry for him. The shorter blonde was the odd one in their group and it wasn’t just due to the height difference. He was a civilian who worked as a police officer first and then a well-respected member of the Hawaii Task Force. He had no military experience whatsoever and yet that somehow made Danny appear as the strongest member of this team of four.</p><p>Buck watched, with a lot of amusement, Danny and Steve bicker back and forth, like an old married couple. Oh, wait, scratch that. They are married but not old. Not yet at least. </p><p>However, while Buck would have loved to keep this fluffy reunion going, time was of the essence. Chase was still out there, tracking him and targeting him and his loved ones. He had to have a plan in place and then back up plans as well. If Chase was smooth enough to wiretap into his old phone, then he would have hired at least two people – a hacker and a watcher. </p><p>With Eliot and Steve in town, Buck’s biggest worry was not if they could stop Chase. It was if they could do so without collaborative damage.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So can anyone guess who the third badass is and who is his squeeze?</p><p>I'll take comments, kudos, and predictions down below. :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Eddie</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>During a video game night out with Steve and Danny, Eddie finds out a little more about Buck's past. </p>
<p>Sometimes, there's a reason why the past stays in the past.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, a little of domestic life, dashed with some angst and smut followed by an 'ohmy god' scene.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eddie was so relieved that his 12-hour shift was over. It was thankfully an easy and slow day – only two call outs and they were both relatively tame. </p>
<p>The first one occurred almost first thing in the morning – a small kitchen fire initiated by an unattended toaster. A teenager was staying at home but had forgotten about it. The bagel burned and set off the fire alarm, which pinged the nearest fire station – the 118. </p>
<p>His parents, who rushed back and expected the worst, wore looks of a mix of disappointment and relief. The boy, sheepish that he set the kitchen on fire, was nonetheless banned from the usage of kitchen tools. At least alone and supervised.</p>
<p>Eddie would have made a dry comment at that but this shift, with different colleagues and a different leader, was still relatively new to him. Sure, he’d been at the 118 station for almost three years but he was mostly on Buck’s shift, with Chimney and Hen acting as paramedics while Bobby oversaw them with paternal eyes.</p>
<p>The shift he was covering was Miguel’s – a fellow Texan of all people and with a Catholic upbringing.  What made the situation even more ironic was that Miguel was also seeing someone – a medical doctor, tall and blonde with a quiet but confident demeanor.</p>
<p>Jeezus, it was like a mirror image of his and Buck’s relationship. </p>
<p>He’d only seen them together once and that was when Miguel had to be picked up due to his vehicle being in the shop. </p>
<p>However, their easy interactions with each other, of how Miguel simply glowed as his partner pulled him into a big bear hug and kissed him on top of his head, reminded him of Buck’s embrace. </p>
<p>Two and a half years ago, if he’d seen this, Eddie would have looked on with jealousy because he was still pining for Buck.</p>
<p>Now, having worked with Buck for almost three years and gone through both the best and worst of times, Eddie only gave Miguel a knowing smile and moved on. </p>
<p>The second callout turned out to be a little more serious. An older apartment, while it wasn’t on fire, had the second floor completely collapsed due to a poor construction job. Several people were stuck underneath the rubble and the acting captain, as Bobby was off for the day, called for a K9 unit to do a search and rescue for the trapped residents. </p>
<p>Thankfully, it was just a two-floor building and there were only a handful of injuries, mostly shock, and scrapes.</p>
<p>The shift was rather tame and Eddie was glad for it as he watched the time reach 6:30 pm and, there on time, was Miguel walking into the locker room, already attired in LAFD shirt and dark pants.</p>
<p>“Hey man,” Miguel greeted him in a warm manner and with a hand out. Eddie smiled and shook it quickly, not wanting his hand to linger too long in another man’s grip. </p>
<p>“Thanks for covering the first part of my shift. Had to help my mom move in and I needed the day off.”</p>
<p>“No problem,” Eddie said. “Just glad she’s ok now.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m really happy that Christian wants her to stay with us. Can’t believe how lucky I am.”</p>
<p>Eddie nodded in agreement and he was just about to walk out, his stuff in his hands already while he was talking with Miguel when the other firefighter stopped him with a light touch on the shoulder.</p>
<p>“Glad to know you’re with someone special too,” Miguel said in a low voice as if he didn’t want to be overheard by the others. </p>
<p>Eddie, stoic as ever, politely agreed, with nothing showing on his face. Internally, though, he panicked a little. Was he that obvious about pining after his best friend? It was bad enough that his team teased the hell out of him. But a colleague who only saw him maybe a handful of times throughout all these years? Fuck, he thought he was pretty good at keeping his feelings close to the chest. </p>
<p>“Don’t worry, man. The 118’s one of the more open stations here in LA. Thank fuck for that. Anyway, catch you later.”</p>
<p>Miguel gave him a two-finger salute as a farewell and moved further into the lockers, allowing Eddie to soak into his thoughts more and head home. </p>
<p>Once he got into his truck and locked his doors, he immediately pulled out his phone and saw that Buck had texted him a few minutes ago, right at 6:35 pm. </p>
<p>Buck: wanna have takeout with Steve and Danny at my loft?<br/>Eddie: Sure. Pizza?<br/>Buck: We just had pizza yesterday. What about Indian? I’m craving spicy food like crazy.<br/>Eddie: Indian? I’m down for that. You know what I like. I trust you. :D<br/>Buck: Love you too, Eds. See you in twenty and drive safe.</p>
<p>It was so easy now, saying those words to Buck. </p>
<p>And Eddie loved it.</p>
<p>He got home in 15 minutes and he could hear laughter from the other side of the door, a Buck laughter that warmed Eddie’s heart every time he heard it. Hearty and just full of life.</p>
<p>Aromatic smells of coriander, ginger, and curry drifted in the air, the hot steam lazing above the food. It all smelled so wonderful and oddly domestic, especially when Buck stopped conversing in mid-sentence and ambled up to greet him at the door. </p>
<p>Two huge arms enveloped him in a gentle embrace, his chest pressing against Buck’s and Eddie, being a couple of inches shorter than Buck, was at a perfect height to nuzzle into the hollow of his throat. He inhaled deeply, loving the sandalwood cologne that Buck favored at night, usually because it would turn Eddie on. </p>
<p>Fucking tease. </p>
<p>"Hey babe," Buck whispered and he kissed Eddie before stepping out of his space, intimately knowing that Eddie liked to relax and by himself to cool down from work. </p>
<p>“Got you some food. Phaal Curry Chicken.” Buck grinned at him as he took Eddie’s bag from his hands and strode through the hallway. </p>
<p>“Hmm, I can smell it from outside.” Eddie followed after him, appreciating the way the jeans fit over the swell of his ass. At least he has to get a look in before mingling in with Buck’s friends.</p>
<p>Buck’s friends were sitting on the couch, with food piled up on their plates and still steaming hot. From the way the food smelled, even over to the kitchen where Eddie was currently standing in, the takeaway must have arrived not too long ago. </p>
<p>The cop, Danny, wiggled his eyebrows at him, catching Eddie in the act of leering at Buck’s ass.</p>
<p>Steve just gave him a nod of acknowledgment before taking another swig of beer.<br/>“What’d I miss?” The trio were all laughing at something, and Eddie felt a little left out. </p>
<p>“Our Buck here was telling us a funny story about his days in SEAL training. One of the guys he was with had a thing for pranks and put glue on the alarm clock the night before. When it went off at 4 am, Buck’s hand slammed on it and then he got clocked in the face with it.”</p>
<p>Eddie raised an eyebrow at Buck, who somehow managed to look embarrassed and furious at Steve for retelling the joke. </p>
<p>“Well, I’m quite sure Steven has quite a few sordid tales of his own,” Buck retaliated and his head rolled over to Danny, clearly looking to the shorter blonde for support. “Right, Danny?”</p>
<p>“Oh, oh, don’t get me started,” Danny shook his head. “I’ve got so many stories of the crazy shit this guy’s pulled, I could open up a library and call it Steve McGarrett.”<br/>He would have continued ranting were it not for Steve flicking a wad of rice right in Danny’s face.</p>
<p>“Guys, no food fight in this area. Remember, we’re at my apartment,” Buck warned, his voice going deep and somber. </p>
<p>It sent bolts of arousal through Eddie’s body and he had to shift his legs, thankful that he was on the other side of the kitchen isle.</p>
<p>“Since we’re at my place,” Buck’s tone lightened and Eddie groaned, knowing there was going to be some sort of punch-line coming in. “The loser has to do dishes.”<br/>“Uh-huh,” Steve’s eyes shifted to Eddie. “I’m sure.”</p>
<p>“Steve’ll be doing that every day at our house,” Danny snarked and Eddie could tell that the shorter man wanted to throw a bigger piece of rice at Steve’s shit-eating grinning face.</p>
<p>“So,” Eddie started to say, wanting to break the stalemate between Danny and Steve, “how’d you end up meeting Buck? I thought he was only in the training for a year.” Before he dropped out. </p>
<p>Buck’s knife clanged against the plate and, for a brief moment, Eddie saw a flash of hurt in those usually bright blue eyes. Eddie blinked and Buck’s baby blues were back to their normal hues of crystal blue. </p>
<p>“I was in the Navy for four years as payment for them paying for my school,” Buck began, all the while gazing steadily into Eddie’s eyes. “Then I applied for the SEALs when I got tired of the engineering life. Paperwork doesn’t save anyone’s life so I figured I could try for being a SEAL.”</p>
<p>“And was a badass at it,” Steve chipped in and he let out a ‘hmm’ sound as he finished off the rice and curry on his plate. The brunette leaned further back in the couch, laying his feet on Danny’s thighs and blatantly ignoring Danny’s protest of ‘babe, not when I’m eating.’</p>
<p>“Really? You Neanderthal, I’m still eating and somehow both you and Buck finished your portions in ten minutes flat,” Danny groused. Instead of knocking off Steve’s feet, however, his hand just laid flat against a foot, a thumb caressing along the ankle bone in small strokes that spoke volumes to Eddie of how Danny feels about Steve.</p>
<p>Eddie gave a small smile at his guest’s interactions but a deep hurt ached in his chest. </p>
<p>Buck hadn’t gone into details about his past. </p>
<p>Eddie realized, the only things he knew of Buck were the quick one-night stands and his years at the 118. He’d known that Buck’s and Maddie’s parents weren’t there for most of their life. Sure, they took care of their kids but only with money. Not with time, where their very presence could have solved at least half of Buck’s problems in terms of seeking approval and experiencing bouts of insecurities more than normal. </p>
<p>It hurt that he was just now finding out about Buck’s four-year military stint with the Navy. The younger man never mentioned it. Not once, not even when he comforted Eddie after a bad night. He did wonder how Buck was so good at it. At that time, he just assumed it was due to Buck’s innate skill to comfort people, to bring out the best in anyone that comes across his path. </p>
<p>He watched with an ugly twist in his heart at how easily Buck talked with Steve when they were telling their stories as simply as they could without breaching the ‘classified’ protocol they had to follow. If Danny hadn’t been there, Eddie would be jealous of Steve. Now, he just felt uncomfortable. </p>
<p>Buck’s eyes, carefree and shining with a certain brilliance that made Eddie’s heart ache, darted to his and, God bless his fucking heart, Buck stopped talking in mid-sentence and leaned in closer to him, thigh against thigh and a warm hand curled around the top of his shoulder. </p>
<p>“Hey, you ok?”</p>
<p>
  <em>No, I’m fucking not okay. Why didn’t you tell me about this? Did you not trust me with this part of yourself?</em>
</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m good. I’m good, Buck.” It was such a weak smile that he gave Buck. And the blonde nodded, not convinced by his vague answer. </p>
<p>“Steve, come and help me with the dishes.” Danny told Steve and, with Steve’s low grumble of ‘I’m still eating my food’, the two men got up from the couch and walked to the kitchen, giving Eddie and Buck some privacy.  </p>
<p>Eddie took a long sip from the beer he’d taken with him from the fridge.</p>
<p>“Eddie, I’m sorry,” Buck started to say and the blonde fidgeted nervously in his seat. </p>
<p>His thumbs rubbed against each other, a nervous twitch that Eddie caught on early in their shifts together.</p>
<p>“Why didn’t you tell me you were in the military?” It was a simple question really but Buck jolted in his seat as if Eddie had slapped him in the face. “I thought we were past keeping secrets from each other.”</p>
<p>“It’s not a secret,” Buck suddenly found his coffee table much more interesting than Eddie. “I did tell you that I was in Navy SEAL training for a year.”</p>
<p>“Well, civilians can apply too, Buck. Odds of getting in aren’t that great but they can still get approved.”</p>
<p>“That’s true but it’s rare too.” </p>
<p>Eddie was trying to convey how hurt he was by Buck not admitting to his military training. Frank was supposed to be helping him in this. Fuck. Why can’t he get the words out when he needs them? His communication skills, or rather a lack thereof, are what ruined his and Shannon’s marriage. They didn’t talk, not about the important stuff like their fucking feelings. </p>
<p>He wanted to change that with Buck and, Dios, he’s trying. He’s trying so hard to give voice to the thoughts running amok in his head.</p>
<p>“I just wish you’d told me this before.” Eddie’s breath shuddered out of him. “Instead of me finding out through your buddy’s stories. Did you two-?”</p>
<p>It was a ridiculous question. But he had to ask. He had to know if there was something between Buck and the other SEAL. If they did, it would make sense after all. Being on risky, dangerous missions together tended to bring a team closer together, whether it be as close friends or as lovers.</p>
<p>Buck pulled a face. At first, it was shock – the eyebrows were so far into Buck’s hairline that they almost disappeared into the forest of blonde locks. Then it turned to a look of utter disbelief – his lips twisted into an odd grimace and there was a strange glaze in those eyes. </p>
<p>“No, no, we weren’t. But I was with someone else.”</p>
<p>“In the military?”</p>
<p>Eddie’s heart pounded in his ears at Buck’s nodding head and he did not expect what came out of Buck’s mouth next. </p>
<p>“He, he was on my team,”</p>
<p>“Was? Then?” Buck’s eyes grew misty and Eddie saw Buck’s Adam apple move up and down.</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh, Dios mio.</em>
</p>
<p>It suddenly made sense now.</p>
<p>Buck 1.0 had always flirted with women. He had sex with them. He dated them and was in a few relationships for a time. Relationships that didn’t last long. </p>
<p>Abby was a fucking miracle because it lasted six months and not six days.</p>
<p>Buck did mention that he was set up on a blind date once with a man but that was because of a few friends he’d made in the first year of being in LA. It wasn’t really about his choice. He didn’t seek it out. </p>
<p>And it was because Buck fell in love with and lost a teammate. A male teammate. <br/>It explained so much and Eddie found it difficult to swallow down that lump in his throat. What broke it, however, was the sight of Buck looking a little lost. As if the blonde was unsure of how Eddie would take the news that Buck’s first real relationship with a man happened years ago and that it was a solid one. No messing around, no one-night stand. It was fucking real and the only reason why it ended was that Buck’s former partner left him in the worst way possible. The only thing that could top that was Abby’s abandoning Buck in the way she did. </p>
<p>In the end, Eddie was comforting Buck. He pulled the man into his chest and kissed him, lips pressing fully against Buck’s.</p>
<p>“Dios, Buck, you don’t, you don’t have to tell me all of it now. Just know that I’m here. For you. For all of you.”</p>
<p>Buck let out a sob, the sound of it tearing out of those full lips and pushing all the air out from Eddie.</p>
<p>Sweet Jeezus. They need to have a good talking over once Buck’s friends leave. </p>
<p>Oh fuck. He almost forgot they were still here. </p>
<p>He leaned his head back and turned his eyes towards the kitchen, where Danny and Steve were murmuring to themselves, their heads bowed in and crowding into each other’s space. The two were giving them some space and Eddie appreciated it.</p>
<p>Eddie didn’t like Steve at first, but seeing as how Steve knew Buck before the latter came to 118, he appreciated the fact that the tall brunette was there for Buck and still here. If anyone needed a big brother, it would be Buck.</p>
<p>His hands stroked the long back, smoothing out the light crinkles in the man’s shirt.</p>
<p>“C’mon, Buck,” Eddie whispered against a shell of an ear. “How ‘bout we show them who has the title, hmm?”</p>
<p>Buck’s body shook, not with sobs but with genuine laughter, at the words being thrown back at Buck. It brought up a not so distant memory of their family night right here, with Chris playing in the background while Buck flirted with Eddie in the kitchen.</p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah, ok,” Buck sniffled and Eddie palmed a cheek lovingly, allowing Buck to take a few deep breaths to compose himself before hopping off on the couch and getting the other two men to come back.</p>
<p>The rest of the night passed without tears or angst. </p>
<p>Instead, the downstairs loft was filled with shouts of ‘Fuck!’ and ‘C’mon, Steve!’ followed by friendly jeers of someone sucking at fighting games. </p>
<p>Eddie chuckled at the sight of a pouting Buck when the latter lost against Steve – the ‘KO!’ splattered in neon yellow colors across the massive screen. Danny cheered on Steve, calling him ‘babe’ and rubbing his side against the taller man. </p>
<p>“Looks like we lost the title,” Eddie sighed into the last dregs of his beverage. The amber liquid swished over his tongue, covering his taste buds with a blanket of hops and chocolate. </p>
<p>Buck still pouted and Eddie pecked him on the cheek to kiss it away. It worked and Eddie flushed at Buck’s soft moan when his fingers landed on a pulse point on Buck’s neck. </p>
<p>“Hey, you two. Don’t start what you can’t finish,” someone laughed beside him and Eddie jumped when there was another bought of laughter, this time coming from Steve. </p>
<p>“Danno,” Steve managed to say, “think that’s our cue of leaving now. Let me have a quick word with Buck, Eddie.”</p>
<p>It wasn’t a question. More of demand but Eddie, having hung out with Steve and Danny for a few days, knew it was just the SEAL’s way of communicating – short and to the point.</p>
<p>Buck quirked an eyebrow at the suggestion and, with a glance at Eddie, followed after Steve to the kitchen, leaving Eddie with Danny, who was too busy popping in popcorn to notice anything. Or so it seems. </p>
<p>“So how long?” </p>
<p>The question took Eddie by surprise even though it shouldn’t. As with any couples on a double-date, the first question was always a ‘how long did it take?’ or ‘how’d you meet?’</p>
<p>“We just got together. Been a few months.” A few months since that first kiss at Hen’s party. </p>
<p>“No,” Danny was now leaning on his knees, the popcorn bucket sitting on the coffee table in front of them. “I mean, how long did it take for you to realize he was it?”</p>
<p>Oh, oh that’s what he meant. </p>
<p>“The tsunami,” Eddie said without hesitation. Even today, he still couldn’t accurately label that thick lump in his chest, the way he looked at Buck with such gratitude and something else that he didn’t want to put a name to at that time.</p>
<p>“Oh yeah, I saw that on the news back in Hawaii,” Danny was still leaning forward, his eyes still on his and Eddie noticed that Danny also had blue eyes, but they contained a grey shade to them. So unlike the sharp crystal hues of Buck’s baby blues. “You guys did good.”</p>
<p>
  <em>Not good enough. I should have realized that Buck would take Chris to the pier. <br/>Should have told him right there and then that I wanted something more from Buck.</em>
</p>
<p>“So, the tsunami was at least a year ago. Not bad. It took me and Steve a lot longer.”</p>
<p>“Why?”</p>
<p>“At first I kind of hated him. Came into my town with an ‘I don’t gotta listen to you’ kind of attitude. Then things happened and six years later, wham.”</p>
<p>“Six?” Eddie couldn’t believe it. He thought his several years of pining after his best friend was bad. But six? How the fuck did they manage it?</p>
<p>“When I had to land a plane and watch Steve bleed out in front of me, that’s when it clicked. Just wish I realized it earlier. Would have saved us a lot of headaches and years of blue balls.”</p>
<p>Eddie let out a self-deprecating chuckle. He would know about having blue balls for months as well though he’s not sure if he could hold out as long as Danny had to. </p>
<p>“Don’t know if I could have held out for six years but I’m sure it’s worth it,” Eddie replied and got a small smirk from the other man. </p>
<p>“Oh yeah. The thing about SEALs is the amazing stamina and those muscles,” Danny wolf-whistled at the end, prompting Steve to glare at him over Buck’s shoulder. </p>
<p>Eddie had a feeling that Danny would have prodded him with more questions regarding the how’s and why’s of his and Buck’s relationship were it not for Steve shouting for Danno to stop making him uncomfortable with the interrogation questions and to get his ass over here. </p>
<p>Eddie shook Danny’s hand in farewell and gave Steve a salute of some sort. The two men waved back and went out of Buck’s apartment</p>
<p>The quietness of the loft was startling as if all the noise had followed after the two men. </p>
<p>Eddie’s thumb rubbed along the neck of the beer, which had long been empty.</p>
<p>Danny held out for six years for Steve. Six fucking years.</p>
<p>Six years was nothing compared to his measly three years. </p>
<p>There was a dip in pressure beside him and Eddie glanced up and noticed that Buck was looking at him with a question in his eyes. </p>
<p>“I always wondered why you didn’t tell me you were bi,” Eddie blurted out, and fuck, that was not how he wanted to start a deep conversation with Buck. But in what other way could he ask about not knowing about his best friend’s sexuality? He felt like he didn’t know Buck. At least past Buck. The version before the 1.0.</p>
<p>Would there even be a negative version of someone? Before resetting to 0.0?</p>
<p>Buck, instead of verbally answering, just palmed a cheek before crowding him further into the coach. </p>
<p>Buck wasn’t just tall. He was a solid wall of muscle and a soft gasp escaped him as it pressed against his body, hard and hot and just fucking solid. He could feel the heat radiate from the blonde’s chest, the pebbled nipples poking out from his form-fitting shirt. </p>
<p>“Because he was my first love with a man.”</p>
<p>
  <em>First? Then he was also the last too…before I met Buck.</em>
</p>
<p>“Fuck me,” Eddie cursed and Buck let slip a quiet laugh before framing his face with his large hands. Hands that could lift his weight as easily as if he were a limp ragdoll.</p>
<p>They were painstakingly gentle now and Eddie reached for Buck, not liking the shadowed expression in those usually expressive eyes. He shouldn’t push this. If he did, he may lose Buck just when they finally found each other. </p>
<p>“I’m not leaving, Hermoso,” Eddie whispered against trembling lips. “I’m not leaving.”<br/>Buck’s eyes gazed into his, the blonde searching for something, perhaps a lie or maybe a half-truth. But it was the truth. Eddie wasn’t going to let Buck go. He’s found a partner who could bear the weight of taking care of an awesome kid. </p>
<p>Someone who adored Chris as if his little mijo was Buck’s son. Even Shannon couldn’t bring forth Chris’ excitement the way Buck did with just his mere presence. </p>
<p>“I know,” Buck’s voice cracked a bit as if the revelation was bearing down upon him. “I fucking know that. It’s just, it’s just that everyone leaves.”</p>
<p>And the way Buck’s face fell, how his shoulders shuddered and stifled sobs wrenched themselves out of those pale pink lips, Eddie wanted to wrap his arms around Buck and never let him go. </p>
<p>He wanted to whisper sweet nothings in his ear and kiss his reassurances so deep into Buck’s skin that they would stay there permanently, like an invisible tattoo.</p>
<p>And Eddie’s body followed through his wants. He followed the path salty tears left behind on those dimpled cheeks, tracing them down with his tongue until the path ends at Buck’s lips. </p>
<p>There, he just merely breathes out Buck’s name, letting the whisper of a benediction wash over them both like a healing balm to their wounded souls. </p>
<p>And Oh Dios, it fucking worked. </p>
<p>Buck’s arms slipped around his chest and Eddie gasped out at a sudden roll of Buck’s hips. He wrapped his arms around Buck’s neck and his stomach lurched at Buck bodily lifting him, those heavy hands grasping at an ass cheek and the middle of his back to help settle his weight against that of Buck’s body. </p>
<p>He groaned when each step would cause their cocks to rub together, their pants doing nothing to hide the obvious desire.</p>
<p>Sharp teeth nibbled at a spot that Buck knew would leave Eddie moaning breathlessly. Little airy gasps escaped him and his brain fizzled out a bit when Buck sucked hard at a pulse point.</p>
<p>He lost track of where he was; he was floating on fucking waves and it should have been discerning. He used to hate this weightless sensation for he couldn’t control it. </p>
<p>He couldn’t tell his body to come back to himself. </p>
<p>But he could feel the hot breath of his name being murmured against his throat, his upper body shivering in response to Buck’s tongue as it laved in an unhurried way at his skin. </p>
<p>His hands threaded through the short sweaty locks, loving how silken the hair feels on his fingers, and he lightly tugged on them, knowing full well how Buck would react to it. </p>
<p>“…Eddie…fuck…” Buck whimpered and Eddie’s cock jerks at the sound.<br/>He did it again, just to see if he could pull Buck’s mouth up to meet his. </p>
<p> Buck surged up and Eddie felt heady at seeing Buck peering up at his, pupils were blown wide and only a sliver band of blue could be seen. His heart stuttered when Buck kissed him, hard and unforgiving. Tongues brushed against each other, fighting for dominance until Eddie relented, allowing Buck to take his breaths away. </p>
<p>He didn’t care that he was roughly deposited on the bed, his back colliding against the mattress with enough force to have Eddie bounce up on the bed twice before settling in.</p>
<p>Buck’s lips tugged into a predatory grin and Eddie felt very much like a cornered prey, with his back against the satin sheets and his thighs having fallen open. Buck didn’t fall in immediately. Instead, his eyes flickered up and down, taking in Eddie’s form with a deep-seated hunger that had Buck licking his lips and Eddie smirking at him. </p>
<p>“You gonna do something or just leave me hanging?” Eddie teased and Buck pounced on him, earning an ‘oof’ from Eddie as two hundred pounds of muscle bore down on him like a freight train and pinned him down. </p>
<p>“Whatever you want me to do,” Buck’s voice came out husky and deep, the rumble sending a shiver down Eddie’s spine and into his cock.</p>
<p>“Hmm. You know I’m open to anything, as long as it’s you,” Eddie purred, his hands gliding down the gentle slope of the muscular back and cupping the swells of Buck’s ass.</p>
<p>“I want to fuck you,” Buck growled in his ear. “I want to eat you out and then fuck you some more until you can’t walk, can’t talk without thinking of me inside you.”</p>
<p>“Dios, no wonder you had us douche before they came over,” Eddie choked at the last part when Buck’s fingers slid underneath the band of his briefs and into the cleft of his ass.</p>
<p>“How is it that you talk so much in bed but not outside it?” </p>
<p>“Because I trust you.” Because you make feel me loved without expecting anything in return.</p>
<p>It was the right thing to say to Buck for he groaned against Eddie’s throat, mouthing along the carotid artery and pressing open-mouthed kisses along the tendon.</p>
<p>Buck rucked up his shirt, his harsh kisses leaving bruises behind while fingers skimmed along the outline of his pectorals before circling his nipples. They never touched them, however, and Eddie bit back a curse at that. He arched his chest forward, hoping that Buck would get the fucking picture and suck on them. </p>
<p>There was a throaty chuckle, even as Buck’s hands gently slipped down his body only to tug off his pants and then the briefs.</p>
<p>Eddie’s body shivered in response to the cold air that and Eddie was going to bite back a comment about Buck teasing him when a wet hot sensation engulfed him whole, swallowing down his cock until there was nothing else left to give. </p>
<p>“Buck, por favor, por favor.”</p>
<p>Hands gripped around his shaking thighs, the fingernails digging into the soft skin and hard muscles.</p>
<p>“Look at me, Eds.”</p>
<p>Eddie did and if anyone wanted to leave this man, it wasn’t because of the image that awaited him. </p>
<p>The hollowed cheeks. Lips dark and wet with saliva as his cock disappeared between them. He half sat-up then, wanting to weave his fingers through the dampened hair.</p>
<p>An errant strand fell over Buck’s eye and he brushed it back, letting him take in the full view of the way those blue eyes gazed at him. Taunting, challenging him to keep his eyes on him as Buck’s head bobbed up and down at a steady pace, neither quickening nor slowing down. Maddening as Eddie couldn’t move his hips to hasten the pace, as Buck’s weight held him down against the mattress.</p>
<p>Far too soon did his balls draw tight against his body and heat coiled low in his belly as Buck’s fingers touched his balls with a feather-light caress before trailing further down and over his tight ring of muscles. </p>
<p>A tip slipped in, the way made easy by the precum that blurted out of his cock and the saliva coating down the rest of his cock.</p>
<p>“I..Buck…” Eddie tried to breathe but he couldn’t. Not when his heart was hammering against the protective cage of bone and muscles. Not at a hot breath being exhaled at his hole, now further exposed by the ease of those strong hands lifting his ass up and off the bed, forcing Eddie to lie down and just take it.</p>
<p>He was drifting away and his hands desperately wanted to hold unto something, to anchor himself to Buck, who was doing a fucking awesome job at melting his brain. Because it was Buck who was showing him that it’s ok to lose yourself. To not have to be grounded 100% in life. </p>
<p>And the small kitten licks at his hole had him gasping for breath. He vaguely remembered shouting out Buck’s name when Buck’s tongue speared him open, hard and fast, and without a warning. </p>
<p>His head reared back and his hands grabbed a hold of Buck’s head, the only thing that was real and concrete.</p>
<p>“….tan bueno…tan bueno…”</p>
<p>Before he could catch himself, his vision whitened out and he came on himself, the liquid spurting out in white, ropey streaks that splattered all over his chest and chin.</p>
<p>His thighs trembled in relief as Buck slowly brought them down and leaned over him as if to kiss him. </p>
<p>When his head ducked down, Eddie’s eyes widened in surprise. </p>
<p>“…Buck…you…ohh!”</p>
<p>A pink tongue lapped at his chest, licking off his release as if it was cream. When it swiped over a nipple, Eddie groaned and his cock twitched feebly, doing its best to renew its interest in Buck’s action and harden. </p>
<p>He hadn’t expected this. Buck cleaning him the way a cat does – long, languorous strokes that rekindled the fire inside of him. By the time Buck reached his chin and mouthed at the jawline, Eddie was too busy moaning to hear the cap of their lube being opened, the slicked fingers gently prodding at his entrance, now loose in the aftermath of his relief. </p>
<p>The slow burn of the fingers was accompanied by the nips and licks at his ear, the prickles in Eddie’s skin where nerves jumped at every touch.</p>
<p>He hissed at the fullness of three fingers, squeezing his eyes shut at the sharp sting. </p>
<p>He would have cried out Buck’s name were it not for Buck slotting their lips together, tongues heavy and fucking into each other’s mouths.</p>
<p>The kiss distracted him enough for him to forget about the initial sting and Eddie panted into Buck’s mouth as fingers worked him open, the pads gliding along his wall. </p>
<p>Eddie screamed when they conveniently bumped into his prostate and he jerked upwards, his hips thrusting downward to shove those fingers deeper inside him. </p>
<p>When Buck repeated the motions, Eddie could feel the pressure building up and his cock hardening between their undulating bodies. With his cock trapped and encased in sweat and flesh, Eddie’s breath hitched and stars started to appear in his vision again. Fuck, he’s getting close. He’s getting-</p>
<p>And there was a whimper of Buck’s name as the fingers pulled out, leaving a terrible emptiness inside him. His ass fluttered around nothing and fuck, fuck, he was so close, so close. </p>
<p>“Sshh,” Buck whispered to him, his voice raspy and heavy near his ear, sounding as if the man was just as wrecked as he was. “Want to come with you this time. Together.”</p>
<p>Fuck, that’s right. </p>
<p>Buck was afraid of being left behind and Eddie felt like he should be the one doing the work, to comfort Buck and reassure him that he wasn’t going to leave like everyone else.</p>
<p>“Not…not gonna leave you, mi amor. No te dejara. Estoy aquí,”</p>
<p>“Fuck, Eds. Your Spanish is so sexy, especially when you’re like this, hot and empty and just aching for my cock.”</p>
<p>Then give me your damn cock! Is what Eddie wanted to say but somehow the synapses failed to fire off the message.</p>
<p>Buck’s cock nudged teasingly at his hole and both men moaned at how it caught on the rim as if Eddie’s ass wanted to catch it and invite it in. </p>
<p>With a slow push and a murmur of Buck telling him to relax, Eddie took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled as a terrible fullness pushed inside him. It fucking burned and Eddie whimpered as it became too much until it wasn’t enough, not enough to scratch the spot that he knew would make the burn dissipate. </p>
<p>“…m-move…please…I can’t…”</p>
<p>Buck’s hips, once flushed with his own, pulled back and moved into him again, the motion strangely tender and gentle. Eddie breathed all the way, knowing that it took time for his body to adjust to the overwhelming presence of Buck inside of him. He let out a breathless as the thrusts got easier and easier, until Eddie wanted more, wanted it deeper until there was no question that Buck was there, in him, on him.</p>
<p>Buck’s knees slid underneath his thighs and buttocks, changing the angle of his cock and leaving Eddie gasping for air, his hands scrabbling for purchase only to fist in the rucked sheets underneath his too hot body. Then strong hands fucking lifted him until he was seated in Buck’s lap, with the new position driving Buck’s cock deeper and flushed unerringly into his prostate. </p>
<p>Eddie wailed and he dug his fingers into the meat of Buck’s shoulders. Whimpers of Buck’s name echoed in the room as rough hands rucked up his shirt only for fingers to tug and pull at his nipples. </p>
<p>Sweat gleaned his chest and back, with droplets pooling in the hollow of his throat and lower back. It must somehow tempt Buck to lick at his throat for Eddie felt him nuzzle there as if his scent was the strongest. Musky and male and probably driving Buck crazy if his ever-increasing thrusts were an indication of it. </p>
<p>“That’s it, baby,” Buck crooned. “You’re here, I can feel you. Feel you around me. So perfect for me.”</p>
<p>And there was a hand pulling at his cock, strong and fast.</p>
<p>There was a roaring in his ear, someone shouting from a distance until Eddie lost awareness of himself. He became weightless, drifting in the whiteness of his completion and barely aware of Buck’s hips rhythm stuttering until Eddie felt Buck come inside him. Hot and wet and fucking perfect. </p>
<p>Awareness came to him slowly and in pieces. His head was laying on something warm and slightly hard. Not soft enough to be a pillow but not rigid either. His muscles felt loose and languid. He could feel the cool air seeping into the pores of his skin and cooling his body. He was held down, against an equally warm chest, with an arm wrapped around his shoulders while another grasped at his buttocks, gently massaging the kinks out of the stiffened muscles.</p>
<p>Kisses were planted on a sweaty temple and someone was stroking his back in small circles, just the way he likes it. </p>
<p>“…Eddie…Eddie…come on back...Eddie…”</p>
<p>“…Buck…” Hands cupped his jaw and tilted his chin up. </p>
<p>He gave Buck a dopey smile and knew that his eyes were probably glazed over from the exertion of two orgasms in one night. </p>
<p>There was a hint of concern in those baby blues but it disappeared once Eddie smiled back at him. </p>
<p>“I’m good,” Eddie said to him. His voice sounded hoarse, probably from all the shouting and screaming he’d done. For a moment, he realized that Buck’s neighbors could have been home and possibly calling in a noise complaint to the police. It wouldn’t surprise him if they did. </p>
<p>“Good thing neighbors are out on vacation,” Buck’s voice had a teasing edge to it as if Buck could read his thoughts. He had years of practice reading his mood.</p>
<p>Eddie flushed at the comment and his hand stroked along the happy trail. He marveled at how, even as tired as Buck was, the muscles jumped and flexed underneath the pads of his fingertips. The smooth skin was dry of come and Eddie realized that Buck must have cleaned them up while he was out. </p>
<p>“How long was I out?”</p>
<p>“You weren’t out. Just maybe floaty,” Buck chuckled and Eddie was given a bottle of water to quench his parched throat. He drank the water, letting out a sigh of relief as the cool liquid settled nicely in his throat and belly. </p>
<p>“That’s the same thing, Buck.”</p>
<p>“No, it isn’t,” Buck growled and Eddie’s body jolted in arousal at how serious Buck was being. “Because you’d still be out if I dicked you down that hard.”</p>
<p>“Well, a challenge for next time then.” Eddie yawned and he laid his head back down on Buck’s chest, reveling in the steady heartbeat that thudded pleasantly in his ear and into his dreams.</p>
<p>-o0o-</p>
<p>The next day was normal for them. Too normal and Eddie learned early in his military training to stay attuned to his instincts. </p>
<p>However, happiness tends to dull the sharp edge of self-preservation. Sometimes, the feeling leaves you complacent in areas where vigilance would have been more suitable.</p>
<p>Instead of seeing a car tail his truck after school pick-up, Eddie was distracted by Chris’ beaming face, as the smile took up the better part of his little mijo’s face whenever the topic of Buck came up.</p>
<p>When he did notice that something was fishy, it was too late. </p>
<p>The car rear-ended his truck with a sickening crunch and the force of the collision was enough to have the truck careen off the road and land into the ditch. </p>
<p>Eddie’s head flung hard into the steering wheel, leaving him dazed and confused for a minute or two.</p>
<p>Someone was screaming out his name, as if from far away, and he could hear multiple footsteps coming his way. His vision was blurry and he tried to fiddle for his phone, which by some miracle was still in the center console.</p>
<p>“…Dad…daddy!”</p>
<p>Chris’ shrieks drove pain into his skull like daggers, sharp and unexpected. He groaned, blinking his eyes and trying to will the steering wheel to come into focus. </p>
<p>He…he needs to call 911…Buck…</p>
<p>He found his phone and there was a spare thought that he had the foresight to share his location with Buck at all times, in case of emergencies such as this. He just barely managed to press the speed dial and deliberately dropped the phone on the floor, when Spanish, angry and quick, echoed around him.</p>
<p>Chris sounded hysterical and there was the sound of a scuffle followed by a high-pitched scream of ‘Daddy!’</p>
<p>The sound forcibly cleared the fog swirling around his head and he jerked upright, only to grab a questing arm and twist it before putting all his weight down on the elbow. His assailant emitted a shriek at the joint breaking with a horrendous snap and the arm was pulled back. </p>
<p>Another stranger shoved the injured attacker aside and pulled open the door. At first Eddie thought it was someone who saw the whole thing go down and was wanting to help. </p>
<p>At the soft click of a gun, however, Eddie immediately stopped struggling and his eyes warily locked unto where the gun was being aimed out. </p>
<p>“Dad! Daddy! Please…don’t hurt…don’t hurt daddy!”</p>
<p>“Struggle some more and your boy dies,” the stranger growled at Eddie. “Now fucking get out.”</p>
<p>Eddie swallowed around the growing lump in his throat. He wanted to fight. Wanted to fight so badly but Chris. Oh, Dios. Chris was in the middle of all this. </p>
<p>“…I don’t think he’s all there, Kane…” another man was saying, the one holding his kid but not doing a good job of it. </p>
<p>“Please…” Eddie pleaded and he felt something trickle down his cheeks. It was an odd mixture of salt and copper. Head wound…a helpful voice said. “he’s got CP. He…just leave him be…”</p>
<p>“What the fuck is CP?” Kane asked his accomplice standing behind him. The man’s blue eyes were so unlike Buck’s. They were hard and emotionless as if they had seen too many horrible things in life and got broke by them.</p>
<p>“Don’t fucking now. But he moving funny and we ain’t got time to deal with this and him.”</p>
<p>“The boss said to take both.”</p>
<p>“The boss ain’t here and don’t got to deal with ‘dis. Let’s just take him and leave the kid here. Maybe stash him somewhere.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, great plan, Hernandez. Let’s leave the evidence behind and have the police know exactly who’s been here and where we at. But you right. You right. We’ll put him somewhere nice and safe.”</p>
<p>The guy called Kane gave him a smile and cold shivers ran down Eddie’s spine. It was the smile of someone who was used to doing this, who had no qualms of hurting children if they got in the way. Before Eddie could even attempt to move, to do anything, something hard and cold crashed into the side of his temple and the last thing he heard was Chris screaming out ‘Daddy!’ before silence crushed everything else, leaving him cold and senseless.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So things are getting a little tough here irl. Thus, updates will be slower than normal. </p>
<p>Otherwise, what are your thoughts, predictions, strong opinions? </p>
<p>As always, I LOVE hearing from you, whether it's kudos or comments. :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Danny</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Danny loved how he was able to visit LA for a honeymoon, especially when their Hawaii Five-0 Ohana gifted them a honeymoon suite at a five star hotel for their wedding gift.</p>
<p>He just didn't like the fact that their honeymoon now turned into a search and rescue type, even if it's for Steve's close friend.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So for clarification on my head canon for McDanno:</p>
<p>Hawaii Five-0: Danny and Steve officially got together in season 7, episode 1 and all the episodes happen the same way in the show, except with McDanno instead of McRollins in 2019. Steve and Danny are acting more as consultants rather than active Hawaii F-0 members as they are more focused on opening that restaurant Danny always wanted to open (see Season 8, episode 10 for more details).</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Steve, babe, c’mon, c’mon,” he moaned out in the darkness of their honeymoon suite, bought and paid for by their Hawaii Five-0 family back home. There was an answering moan and Danny couldn’t help but let out a gratified shout of completion as Steve thrust inside him, deep and hard. </p>
<p>He felt his come spurt unto his belly, his body tightening around the hard cock that was still spearing him open mercilessly. It was almost starting to hurt, this oversensitivity and Danny pulled Steve close, relishing in the feeling of those lean muscles, hard-won through years of Navy SEAL missions and suffering, pressing him into the luxurious king-size bed and with its ridiculous 1000 thread count. </p>
<p>“Danny…Danny…fuck…”</p>
<p>“C’mon, babe,” Danny urged him and, to help him crest over the edge that much faster, his fingers dragged themselves over Steve’s hole. His fingers were drier than Danny wanted to so he merely laid his fingers there, a promise for later. </p>
<p>It worked and Danny peered up at Steve, watching with rapture as the brunette’s mouth fell open and those hazel eyes fluttered shut as Steve came.</p>
<p>There was a unison of groans, of sighs of relief and contentment, as both men felt Steve’s completion. </p>
<p>Steve released a shaky laugh before bending down and kissing Danny, slow and sensual with tongues dancing around each other.</p>
<p>Danny let out a slight hiss into Steve’s mouth as the taller man softened and slowly slipped out. A tired smile appeared on his face at a gentle apology and he palmed Steve’s cheek with a tired hand.</p>
<p>“…’sokay…”</p>
<p>Holy fuck, that was so good, it made his voice slur. </p>
<p>Steve leaned into the touch and pressed an open-mouthed kiss into Danny’s palm. <br/>This strange affection, it still marveled Danny. </p>
<p>Even after working with the man for a decade and being with him for the past four years, the way Steve would drop his guard enough to let his feelings come out made Danny wonder in awe at how he got so lucky. </p>
<p>After all, he was a Jersey cop and a divorced dad. A proud dad of two beautiful and successful kids. </p>
<p>He’d never thought he’d be here. Not even after the fucking close calls with Steve. The stupid raid in North Korea with Jenna. That god awful failed mission or whatever the fuck Catherine had Steve involved in back in Afghanistan. He still hadn’t forgiven her for that by the way. Nope. Not in a million fucking years.</p>
<p>The final straw, as he told Eddie, was seeing how close Steve was to death. To meet St. Peter at the supposedly golden gate of Heaven. </p>
<p>Jeezus.</p>
<p>“Hey…” Steve whispered to him and he felt another kiss, this time on his lips. Steve’s body laid on his own, but his bad knee was gently positioned out at a comfortable angle. “You still with me, Danno?”</p>
<p>“You’re never gonna stop calling me that.” His reply got a soft chuckle and Steve’s eyes brightened in mirth. </p>
<p>“No,” Another kiss. “Not even when we’re 80 years old and sipping Mai-tais back home.”</p>
<p>“Assuming we get to live that long with your crazy antics,” Danny rolled his eyes but he softened the comment by wrapping his arms around his lover and held him close, not willing to separate them, despite the cooling of his come between them. <br/>“As much as I love this,” Steve whispered in his ear, his long fingers threading through sweaty blonde locks, “you’re not gonna like waking up to dried come on your stomach. Remember the first and last time that happened?”</p>
<p>“Hey, that was not my fault. You fucked me so hard, we both passed out.”</p>
<p>“Uh huh, love you too.”</p>
<p>“Alright, I give,” Danny said. “I-mmffh!”</p>
<p>Damn it, Steven!</p>
<p>The stupid Navy SEAL knew that the best way to shut him up was putting a mouth on his nipple and fingers in his mouth. </p>
<p>“..mfff…nnghh…”</p>
<p>
  <em>Fucking hell, Steve! Fuck!</em>
</p>
<p>That’s what he wanted to say but he had two fingers shoved in his mouth and Danny let out an undignified whimper at the sharp nip to his other nipple while a hand tenderly fingered the recently moistened nub. </p>
<p>Unbelievable. </p>
<p>Fucking unbelievable Navy SEALS and their short refractory times.</p>
<p>Danny threw Steve a look that’s equally frustrated and aroused. It didn’t stop Steve. When has throwing Steve looks of ‘keep going and I’ll kill you’ ever stop him in moments like these? Not even when his own body was doing its best to betray him.</p>
<p>There’s no way he could harden again, not so soon after having come but there it was. </p>
<p>His cock, hardening underneath the soft skin of Steve’s chest, stiffened and grew a darker shade of red. Fuck, it was looking angry and Danny moaned as Steve swallowed him down. His hands clawed at those gorgeous shoulders and blunt nails dug into the meat of them, pulling a soft groan from Steve. </p>
<p>The sound reverberated around his cock and Danny threw his head back, a soft ‘Steve!’ catching at the back of his throat and muffled due to Steve’s fingers still twirling around his tongue.</p>
<p>His hips thrust forward and Danny heard a slight choking sound before it disappeared underneath noises of someone sucking wetly at piece of flesh. Mainly his cock. </p>
<p>He blearily realized that his mouth felt emptier now, the fingers having gone and disappearing somewhere else. </p>
<p>When Steve started moaning continuously around his cock, Danny wondered just how much his lover liked sucking him. He rose up on his elbows and he had to close his eyes again, not wanting to come so soon, at the sight that greeted.</p>
<p>Steve’s hollowed cheeks and long lashes fluttering against sun-kissed skin.</p>
<p>Steve sucking him down, making those delicious sounds of his as he’s begging for Danny’s cock like it was food. </p>
<p>But it was Steve’s arm that caught his attention. His arm that looped easily behind the Navy SEAL’s long back and the hand that hovered just past the swells of Steve’s ass.</p>
<p>“Fuck, Steve….fuck that’s so hot,” Danny moaned and he so badly wanted to join Steve there, to have his own fingers tangle with Steve’s and help tease his lover, rub all the spots that would make the brunette’s body shake and tremble. “You-you gotta stop…let me in you…oh God…please…”</p>
<p>His voice was raspy and hoarse. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if Steve heard him above the slurping sounds. </p>
<p>Steve must have heard him, however, as the man let his cock fall out of his lips with an obscene pop and straddled Danny’s waist, a wicked smile on Steve’s face. </p>
<p>Even with all the playfulness, Danny made sure that Steve went down slowly, not wanting his partner to go down too quickly, even if the latter had a slightly masochistic side to him. It would explain all the times Steve kept getting shot at. </p>
<p>Once Steve couldn’t go any lower, their hips flush against each other, Danny moved his grip on Steve’s hips to those lean thighs. He marveled at how soft the skin was, especially on the inner thigh, and his thumb stroking along a sensitive spot, closer to the ‘V’ of the hips, had Steve shudder, a shaky breath releasing out of the man’s kiss-swollen lips.</p>
<p>He watched in wonder as Steve moved against him, up and down, sometimes in a dirty figure 8. </p>
<p>He saw the way sweat started to cover his body in a glistening sheen and Danny rose up, wanting to lick at the sweat that collected around his nipples. </p>
<p>“…Danny!” </p>
<p>The flat of his tongue brushed against a small dusky nipple and his other hand splayed itself below the shoulder blade, pushing Steve’s chest against him. </p>
<p>Another lick and Steve let loose a litany of ‘Danny, please, fuck, god’ before finally growing tight around him. Danny reluctantly released the sensitive flesh as he didn’t want to miss out on seeing Steve’s face as they both drew closer to completion. </p>
<p>Fuck, he’ll never get enough of this. </p>
<p>Steve’s mouth had opened, his jaw slack and loose with the pleasure rushing through their bodies. His head was arched back, letting Danny see the vulnerable expanse of Steve’s long throat.</p>
<p>Out of the two of them, Danny was the more possessive one. He was the one who wanted to leave marks on his lover’s body – bruises on the hips, hickeys all along the shoulders and neck. Fuck, he just wanted to bite at Steve’s throat and never let go. </p>
<p>However, they were going to see Buck again the next evening, going over contingency plans should the worst come to pass with Buck’s potential enemy. </p>
<p>Thus, he nuzzled at the bottom, closer to the spot where the neck met the shoulder.</p>
<p>Steve’s hands had gathered in his hair, tugging him there as if the man was saying ‘fuck, please there, bite me there.’</p>
<p>He obliged Steve, letting his teeth gather the skin but not break it. </p>
<p>There was an answering expletive and Steve clenched so tight around him, so fucking tight. It still amazes Danny how he waited six years for them to get together. Fuck, they could be doing this when they were younger. Could be fucking more, harder and it still wouldn’t even be enough.</p>
<p>Danny was so wound up in the first place that Steve’s tightening around his cock caused his own body to answer in suite and a choked-off cry of 'Steve!' tumbled out of his lips.</p>
<p>He squeezed Steve’s chest with a thick arm and breathed heavily, relishing the scent of cedarwood and just Steve. </p>
<p>It took them a few minutes to collect their breaths, their bodies limp and exhausted from the second round. Danny slowly leaned back, bringing Steve with him and not willing to let go of his warm body. </p>
<p>“Danny…let me…” Steve wriggled his hips, trying to let Danny know about his softening cock. </p>
<p>With great reluctance, Danny slipped from Steve’s body, moaning as the heat of Steve’s body disappeared.</p>
<p>“…fuck me…” Danny whispered and Steve shook with laughter.</p>
<p>“I just did,” came the Navy SEALs snarky comment and usually Danny would roll his eyes at that. Instead, he huffed out a laugh of his own and kissed Steve’s temple. </p>
<p>Fuck, he was so glad they got their shit together. So fucking glad. </p>
<p>Now, all they have to do is sleep and hope to God that this douchebag lawyer doesn’t do anything stupid. </p>
<p>Actually, Danny does hope, if only to see the son of a bitch behind bars. He just hopes his Steve doesn’t get shot or do something so incredibly Steve that he’ll probably wind up on the hospital bed right next to him. Again.</p>
<p>-o0o- </p>
<p>Danny had worked on a lot of rough cases. Several were back in Jersey and those tales are still not child friendly, no matter how hard Grace and Charlie push him for more stories. They already knew most of the stories back at home, in Hawaii, thanks to the little family of him and Steve, Kono, Chim, and the recently engaged Tani and Junior.</p>
<p>However, as he walked into Eddie’s house, with Buck talking to a police woman and almost the entire LAPD squad there, a cold chill ran down his spine.</p>
<p>The serious expression of Athena as she was speaking to Buck didn’t help the chill go away. Neither did the panic that was so easy in Buck’s normally cheery eyes. He didn’t know Buck that well but it was easy to tell that something happened to Buck. Or rather to the people most important to Buck. </p>
<p>At his side, Steve stiffened immediately and their usual afternoon ‘cargument’ was put on hold, to be finished later.</p>
<p>“Buck, these friends of yours?” The police woman asked casually but Danny saw her eyes, once soft from looking at Buck, now harden at the sight of what could set her alarms off. </p>
<p>A tall man walking with a military swagger, accompanied by his partner, whose eyes roved around the perimeter, looking for suspects, for anything out of the ordinary. <br/>Danny had a hunch of how she might perceive them as a threat. </p>
<p>After all, something occurred to cause the panicky expression Buck’s face wore. </p>
<p>Thus, whatever did that was going to face Steve’s wrath. And, if he knew Steve very well, which he did, then Steve would either steam roll the poor woman with no regard to her station or he could possibly do preventative measures like….</p>
<p>“Detective Danny Williams, from Hawaii Five-0,” Danny introduced himself first and he pointed at Steve, letting his partner introduce himself, hoping the introductions would lessen the tension that’s already brewing between two headstrong people. </p>
<p>“Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, in charge of Hawaii Five-0,” Steve inputted helpfully. </p>
<p>Thank God he wasn’t folding his arms up in front of him. Instead, he held out a hand.</p>
<p>“Sergeant Athena Grant,” the police woman said, shaking Steve’s hand quickly. “What brings another police jurisdiction out here?”</p>
<p>“Buck, here,” Steve smiled at the young man standing next to Athena, “is my brother from another mother.”</p>
<p>“Well, Commander McGarrett,” Athena pursed her lips almost uncomfortably, as if she was about to tell Steve and him to fuck off and that this business was none of this. <br/>“This is up to Buck to see if he wants to involve you two. This case is-“</p>
<p>“They kidnapped Eddie and Chris,” Buck interrupted and Danny’s eyes widened. </p>
<p>Holy fuck. The worst scenario did happen.</p>
<p>Which means that Steve was going into full ‘protect family mode.’</p>
<p>Which also means that he’s going to have some insane plan that involves a lot of shooting and an injury, guaranteed. The question is who would be shot at and/or who would be injured. </p>
<p>As predicted, Steve’s face became inexplicably hard to read to anyone who wasn’t Danny.</p>
<p>To Danny, however, he could see the tight clench of Steve’s jaw, the stiffness in those shoulders. What was more telling was the calculating look in those usually warm hazel eyes.</p>
<p>Buck was too caught up in his panic or fear to notice anything. </p>
<p>In fact, Buck’s fist clenched so tightly that Danny could see small rivulets of crimson run down his closed hand and drip to the ground. The younger man’s breathing was loud and quick, not quite hyperventilating but not normal either. </p>
<p>There was a faraway look to those cerulean orbs, as if Buck was somewhere else. </p>
<p>The next few words that Steve spoke to Buck confused Danny and Steve repeated that same phrase, adding in a new one that made Danny take a mental note and file it away for later. </p>
<p>“Come back to me, Buck. Don’t get lost in that jungle again,” Steve murmured to Buck, a hand flattening out on the man’s shoulders. Not moving, just staying there in between the shoulder blades. </p>
<p>Buck was close to tears but Danny could tell that Steve’s hand grounded him enough to push back the emotional torrent that would have overtaken the poor guy.</p>
<p>Jesus Christ. He did not travel so many miles just to get involved in another child abduction case.</p>
<p>However, he did this for Steve, who, by the look in his calm eyes and the supporting lean into Buck’s space, was not going to go anywhere from the hurt man.</p>
<p>It took a few minutes for Buck to collect himself and Danny watched as Buck’s blue eyes slowly lost their mistiness, only for a certain hardness settle in. </p>
<p>It was a look of determination, of a strange kind of focus that made those eyes look so achingly familiar. </p>
<p>With a start, Danny realized that Steve would get that particular look whenever he had a crazy plan in mind. </p>
<p>
  <em>Fuck me twice, I’m seeing another Steven here. </em>
</p>
<p>Apparently, he wasn’t the only who knows how to read a Navy SEAL, despite the woman not having any clue to Buck’s past as a Special Ops member.</p>
<p>“Buck, let’s not do anything stupid or law-breaking. I can’t help you if you’re behind bars trying to get this guy,” Athena said and she took a deep breath, as if she was about to say something crazy. “But barring that, you got the full support of me and anyone who cares about you. Eddie and Chris, they’re family and we are going to help them.”</p>
<p>She regarded Danny especially, knowing that his detective skills would come in handy for these particular situations. </p>
<p>“Maddie was horrified to hear firsthand of the kidnapping,” Athena said to Buck, her hand palming one of the younger man’s shoulders. “But she also did the smart thing and called me straightaway to have the voices identified. Their names of Kane and Hernandez, while it’s a reach, are being run in the system right now. We’re also looking at traffic footage to look for any anomalies.”</p>
<p>“I know someone who can do it faster,” Danny pitched in and he got a raised eyebrow in return. Athena had no idea who he and Steve were. Yeah, he understood that. </p>
<p>Steve can be a grouch to work with and that was as a partner for a decade. </p>
<p>For someone who just met him, whew, that could be a whole different ballgame. </p>
<p>“He works for the Hawaii Five-0 so he’s legit,” Danny explained to Athena, who only gave him a slight nod. Sort of legit. At least I’m not offering Toast’s services. Oh hell no.</p>
<p>“Buck, do you have any clue as to where Eddie and Chris were before they were taken?”</p>
<p>“In a way yes, but the note says to show up at Santa Monica Pier at midnight tonight, with 7 million dollars or…”</p>
<p>Buck stopped and his face got a shade lighter. </p>
<p>“Or they’ll kill Eddie or Chris,” Athena finished for him, cursing at the end. “Damn it. This is all hands on deck-“</p>
<p>“No, Athena. The note also said no law enforcements,” Buck said, giving the note to Athena. </p>
<p>The writing was neat and cursive. Of course, it was. Douchebags like this tend to be well-educated and cruel on the inside. </p>
<p>Danny shuddered at the writing, however.</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>Santa Monica Pier, midnight. 7 million dollars in cash and you get to choose who lives. No cash, both die. Any sign of law enforcement and they both die.</em>
  </p>
</blockquote>“That’s a hell of an ultimatum,” Danny said. “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. But he isn’t going to get away with this. No scumbag will get away with this without losing something of theirs.”<p>Karma was a bitch and Danny really hoped that she comes in full force unto this Chase lawyer and quickly.</p>
<p>-o0o-</p>
<p>Karma fucking pulled through. </p>
<p>Danny was so relieved that Jerry hadn’t lost his hacking skills. In fact, if it was possible, his unconventional skills got better over the years, even with how stupidly quick this technology was changing. </p>
<p>He was hunched over a good part of the oval table in the LAPD office, talking to someone on speaker phone when Athena knocked on the door, more out of a courtesy than a need to let Danny know that she was there. </p>
<p>The first 24 hours of missing persons were the most critical and Jerry managed to do whatever he does best: finding information anywhere and giving it to the Five-0. In this case, Jerry was giving it to the LAPD. Sort of. Mainly to Athena and only because Danny asked him too. Or rather Steve asked him to, with the promise of buying Jerry a month’s worth of lasagna from his favorite Italian restaurant. </p>
<p>If it were up to Danny, he could make a better lasagna but that’s a subject for a later date. </p>
<p>“Jerry, Sergeant Athena is on the line now,” Danny said to his friend. If it weren’t for the Hawaii Five-0, he would never have made any effort to befriend a man as paranoid as Jerry had been. And, if he was honest with himself, which he was 95% of the time, he was glad to be friends with this crazy hacker. Better be friends with someone who can hack into your account as a side hobby than as an enemy. </p>
<p>“Aloha, Sergeant Athena,” Jerry’s voice was calm and professional. It fucking impressed Danny. Because Jerry could be a chatterbox, especially when he gets started on Star Wars and all nerdy stuff. </p>
<p>“Hello to you, what do we have?”</p>
<p>“Well, lucky for us,” Jerry started to say, “and thanks to Mr. Buckley’s foresight, we managed to narrow down our list of suspects against the names mentioned in that audio call to the dispatch center.”</p>
<p>“How-?” Athena began to question but Jerry continued, politely of course. </p>
<p>“With some fingertip magic, I’ve managed to get the license plate from that store’s camera. Thank the force that these two idiots rear-ended our missing people in front of an Apple store. Those people take security very seriously.”</p>
<p>“Ok, Jerry, time’s of the essence here,” Danny winced at the sound of his own voice, harsh and abrupt. Jerry just rolled with it, like always, used to his shortness when on a case. “We’ve got a kid that’s CP and a firefighter. Both been missing for five hours at least. Still not sure on how we’re gonna get seven mil in cash by the way.”</p>
<p>“$7 mil? In cash? Why do they always want cash and never wire transfers?” Jerry mumbled and Danny almost had to turn up the volume on his phone. </p>
<p>“Cuz the sleazebag in charge of this is a lawyer and apparently smart enough to order that.”</p>
<p>“No, not smart enough. He’s literally leaving a paper trail. But don’t worry, Commander McGarrett got a hold of a colleague of mine. We’re going to-“</p>
<p>“Detective Williams,” Athena called out to him. Now, normally, if it were any other person, Danny would have a perfect snarky comment to spit out. Something about how rude it was to interrupt a conversation. </p>
<p>The stark expression on the police woman’s face was enough to put a stop to it. </p>
<p>Her brows were deeply furrowed and her usual full lips were thinned into a fine grimace, as if she was seeing something gross, like a gutted animal or something. </p>
<p>She was holding out her phone and, there, forwarded from Buck, was an embedded trio of images. </p>
<p>The left was of a frightened little boy. Jesus. He looked to be Charlie’s age. And the way they bound his arms and legs with duct tape was sickening. Whoever did it was sloppy and didn’t care that the kid had CP. </p>
<p>The right image was no less sickening. </p>
<p>It was of Eddie, his arms and legs bound to the chair he was sitting in.</p>
<p>One side of his head was still caked with blood but deep bruises mottled all along the man’s bare chest and torso. It was clear Chase or perhaps his thugs were using Eddie as a literal punching bag. </p>
<p>Funny how they focused on the chest and torso instead of the face, which only had an impressive shiner on one eye but that was it. </p>
<p>Usually the face was the first to go. </p>
<p>And the third image had a sign that left Danny feeling nauseous and having a serious need to go to the bathroom. Like soon.</p>
<p>
  <em>Who do you love most? You can’t save both.</em>
</p>
<p>Oh fucking Christ on a stick. </p>
<p>If Buck saw these, which he most definitely did, then there was no doubt that he was already gearing up for action.</p>
<p>Which meant that Steve was no far behind him. </p>
<p>As if on cue, his phone buzzed and he picked it up immediately. </p>
<p>“Danno, Jerry and Alec are working on figuring out the signal analysis of those <br/>images. They think they can pinpoint the location of where those images were taken.”</p>
<p>“It could be a burner they were using,” Danny replied quickly. “But we gotta hurry. Midnight’s only four hours away and-“</p>
<p>He looked down at the images again and had to swallow down a thick lump in his throat. </p>
<p>“For once, I have faith in your plan. Just don’t leave me out of the loop and fucking wear a Kevlar suit.”</p>
<p>“When don’t I wear body armor?”</p>
<p>Danny had a perfect comment for that too but there was someone murmuring in the background, the voice too quiet to be identified.</p>
<p>“Gotta go Danno. Yellow Wolf is anxious and, believe me, you don’t want to find out when he gets like this,”</p>
<p>“Love you too,” was all Danny could say before the line dropped. </p>
<p>He’d almost forgotten Athena was still in the room until she leaned over the oval table, opposite of him. </p>
<p>She looked tired. Her eyes, while still bright and warm, were pinched at the corners. <br/>Her dark blue uniform took on an disheveled appearance, with wrinkles appearing at the hem of her top piece. </p>
<p>“Is there something I need to know?” </p>
<p>It was clearly a rhetorical question because she was there in the room throughout the whole conversation.</p>
<p>“Yeah, we got a plan and you’re not gonna like it.”</p>
<p>“A plan is better than doing nothing. We got a missing kid who’s done nothing wrong and 118’s missing their favorite Diaz. Bobby’s worried sick because Buck is acting weird and I’m up to my ears with my Captain asking me questions about the legality of all this. So, yeah, I may not like it but I’ll take anything at this point. My own team is not as fast as yours and I’d appreciate being kept in the loop.”</p>
<p>“Then you better have two ambulances and half a dozen squad cars parked three blocks away and in stealth mode. Don’t want to spook our Mister lawyer so everything is radio silence till we’re given an all clear.”</p>
<p>“And just how are we supposed to know that signal?”</p>
<p>“Trust me, with our Navy SEALs here, we’ll know.” Danny really wanted to tell her more but the risk was too great. Chase could have a mole in the police department, though it was least likely. The man was a slick weasel and not liked well, even in his own social circles of other lawyers. Thank God for that. </p>
<p>No, what Danny was worried about was a raw recruit mouthing off to some nobody, which could be relayed to Chase’s accomplice. </p>
<p>And, if 10 years of police work were to tell him anything about keeping secret plans on the down-low, it was that they inevitably get revealed. And Steve’s plan was banking on that. </p>
<p>As Athena just stared at him in equal parts of disbelief and horror, Danny sent a silent prayer that the ambulances were for the bad guys, not his Steve nor the ‘Little Steve’ as he liked to call Buck now. </p>
<p>It was just the waiting now. </p>
<p>Always the waiting part.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Wow, this chapter was really challenging because I've never done this type of story before. </p>
<p>Hope you guys like it and if you do, drop a like or comment. </p>
<p>Stay safe and I'll see you peeps next time!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Eddie</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Eddie's an old friend with pain. </p>
<p>Physical pain. Pain from anxiety. Pain from loss.</p>
<p>But this, seeing Buck like that, was nothing compared to anything he'd seen before.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Y'all, this chappie was so hard I almost had to scrap it and rewrite it again. </p>
<p>Hope it meets everyone's expectations!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Drip. Drip. Drip</p>
<p>It was constant, just like the throbbing headache that loomed ahead of him. At first he thought he might have gone out drinking but something felt off around him. <br/>His skin goosebumped, the hairs on his arms standing up as if a chill had come over him. </p>
<p>Except, it felt like a sauna in here. The air was thick and heavy, almost bearing down on him like a weighted blanket that’s used in the cold winters.</p>
<p>The smell of rotten fish and something else drifted into his nose and Eddie inhaled even more only to regret it later when his stomach rolled in protest and he wanted to throw up.</p>
<p>Sensing that he was in danger somehow, he took a few shaky breaths, wincing as each breath made his head ache. </p>
<p>He was tied to a wooden chair, his hands bound tight behind him with his wrists locked effectively and painfully into place by a thin strap of a zip tie. Sweat had gathered around the material, causing the plastic to cut deep into his skin. His legs were strangely left untied, indicating perhaps that his kidnappers were amateurs or maybe just in too much of a rush to do the job properly. He was also bare-chested, stripped of his shirt and white Henley. It was perhaps a small mercy that his pants were left on. </p>
<p>His eyes slowly fluttered open and he squinted as sickly yellow lights glanced downwards at him. </p>
<p>It was oddly quiet, except perhaps for the constant dripping sound, and that scared Eddie more than anything. </p>
<p>The silence meant that he was the only one here. </p>
<p>Christopher wasn’t <em>here </em>. </p>
<p>Fuck. </p>
<p>Fuck.</p>
<p>He jerked his head around, the adrenaline fizzling away the fogginess in his head. </p>
<p>A large room, with only one entrance. </p>
<p>There were strangely no cameras in the room either. No thugs guarding the only way in or out of this new hellhole he found himself in. </p>
<p>This lack of security detail, it fucking baffled him. </p>
<p>In the Army, horror stories of kidnappings were as popular as questions of ‘who’d you leave back home?’</p>
<p>Stories of men being beaten to death, of the constant scrutiny by the enemy whether it be the Taliban or some anti-government coalition that hated Americans. </p>
<p>Even rarer were tales of men being raped and Eddie’s stomach tied into knots at the thought. </p>
<p>Perhaps this kidnapping was more psychological, to mess a captive up in the head.</p>
<p>Those were the worst tales Eddie heard – stories of men who wanted to either die right after being rescued due to the horrific humiliation or, even worse, wanted to go back to their captors, having gotten a bad case of Stockholm Syndrome. </p>
<p>And so, he mentally steeled himself for the worst. </p>
<p>The worst came in through the door, the dry air rushing through the large room as if it needed to occupy the space where Eddie was being kept.</p>
<p>If Eddie had a swear jar, he’d be a million dollars richer now. With half of it coming from this moment. </p>
<p>The lawyer looked terrible, despite the immaculate suit he was wearing and of how his thugs seemed to pour into the room, with four standing in pairs of two on each side of the tall thin man. </p>
<p>Chase’s frame was even thinner than usual and his eyes, flat and almost devoid of life, were sunken in, with the cheekbones looking unnaturally big for that long face.</p>
<p>“I don’t normally like kidnapping children,” Chase said, his oily smile making his eyes shrink even more if that was possible. The small beady eyes paired with his kidnapper’s long face gave Chase the appearance of a rat.</p>
<p>If Buck were with him, he’d most definitely call the sleazy dirtbag a rat to his face. </p>
<p>“But that little kid is Buck’s world, isn’t he? I’m curious to see what he would do if given the option to save him or you.”</p>
<p>“So that’s what this is about, revenge for losing your money?” Eddie hoped to God his voice sounded strong and intimidating. </p>
<p>On the inside, his heart was hammering against his ribs and the only mantra in his head was ‘get out, find Christopher.’</p>
<p>“Smart man. Maybe you should have been a lawyer,” Chase grimaced and he shifted uncomfortably in his stance. The lawyer acted like he didn’t want to be in here. </p>
<p>Well, join the fucking club. </p>
<p>“No thanks. Saving people is better, helps me sleep at night.”</p>
<p>Ok, that was half-true.</p>
<p>He still had nightmares from cases over the past two years. </p>
<p>Shannon. Buck. The stupid tsunami that ploughed through LA. And his near-death experience with the well rescue.</p>
<p>But his conscience was clear at least. </p>
<p>It must have been the wrong answer for sudden sharp pain bloomed in the side of his chest.</p>
<p>Well, that almost broke a rib. </p>
<p>“I’m surprised to see you not panicking over your missing son,” Chase’s voice was high-pitched and damn annoying. Like a gnat that hovered just at the edge of your vision. “Your military training probably included tortures like this.”</p>
<p>Someone shifted to the right of him and Eddie instinctively tensed, knowing that another jarring punch was on its way. </p>
<p>It left a cracked rib and Eddie’s chest heaved, trying to suck in a breath and relieve the pain. </p>
<p>Shit. He really hoped he doesn’t get punctured lungs in the process. He has to stall for time. Give Chase what he wants and see if he could get out.</p>
<p>“What do you want?” The question was met with a fist to the face. </p>
<p>The force of it pushed the chair off its legs and the room lurched, making Eddie squeeze his eyes shut to lessen the vertigo. </p>
<p>The blackness behind his eyelids just worsened it but he refused to let out a sound.</p>
<p>“I want you to suffer so I can take a pretty picture and send it to Buck,” Chase answered. “Or maybe I should take a video and post it all over social media. After all, what a better way to start a weekend than seeing one of LA’s finest all tied up? If you don’t make a sound, I’ll even leave your little boy alone. Besides, beating on disabled kids does nothing for me.”</p>
<p>Oh thank fuck.</p>
<p>Last thing Chris needs is a whole set of nightmares from this, along with crippling injuries just when he was starting to become more independent.</p>
<p>His relief was short-lived as Chase mumbled something to the other four men before footsteps started to recede, the sounds of loafers muffled by the wet sounds of flesh punching into his skin and deep into his muscles and bones.</p>
<p>Agony became his constant companion then, numbing everything else, even his thoughts. </p>
<p>But he’ll refuse to die from this. To bow down before this sick creep. </p>
<p>Even as he hears the distant click of a camera or maybe a phone, as blood trickled down his chin, Eddie still didn’t make a sound. </p>
<p>His CO would be proud of him and probably call him ‘Ghost’ again. </p>
<p>For his silence in everything – emotions, sounds, anything that makes a human human. </p>
<p>And, blissfully, everything else became silent and dark, even the pain.</p>
<p>-o0o-</p>
<p>“…’him up…”</p>
<p>Ice cold water splashed in his face, jolting his body out of the forced sleep it was put under. </p>
<p>His wrists stung. His torso felt like it was on fire, as if somebody poured kerosene on him and lit him up. </p>
<p>His entire body ached and Eddie made a sound, unwittingly. A groan that slipped past his dry lips. </p>
<p>“Ah, Mr. Diaz, so glad of you to join us,” a cold familiar voice greeted him upon opening his eyes. </p>
<p>Some time must have passed because the lawyer wasn’t in that same damn suit. He changed out the former black one to replace it with a dark brown outfit. The turquoise tie, the same color as Buck’s eyes, just didn’t set right with his kidnapper. </p>
<p>Maybe it was the sickly pallor of his skin or just the sheer dullness of Chase’s eyes that sucked out the color from everything else. </p>
<p>“Mr. Buckley was so kind to meet my demands and I’m a lawyer, so I’m a man of my words. But before I go, I’m going to leave you a present – a front-row seat to it all.”</p>
<p>There, sitting on a small desk, was a tablet, one of the newer models with a larger screen. </p>
<p>“This here,” Chase pointed at the tablet and he then fiddled with his phone, pressing a few buttons. “Will let you see everything that happens.”</p>
<p>After a minute or two, the screen went black for a second before a figure showed up – a well-beaten man tied to a chair, with his torso littered with bruises and scrapes.</p>
<p>His head was slightly bowed forward until it moved upwards, only for Eddie to stare at a very familiar set of brown eyes stared back at him. </p>
<p>Dios mio. </p>
<p>He was staring back at himself.</p>
<p>Fuck. He looked terrible. Worse than that night when he almost beat a man half to death. He now wondered if this is what his fighting opponent felt like – wheezing out of his chest, with eyes clouded over. He looked like death itself. </p>
<p>“True to your word, you didn’t make a sound,” Chase sounded disappointed. “So, I left Christopher alone as promised. I’m so nice, aren’t I? Let’s hope my generosity doesn’t run out tonight. Now, let’s switch it to this.”</p>
<p>The screen flickered before the image of himself disappeared, only to show a pier of some sort.</p>
<p>Eddie’s heart dropped when he recognized it as the same one where Buck and Chris were at the advent of the tsunami. </p>
<p>Fuck. Front-row seat indeed. </p>
<p>The irony of the location was not lost upon Eddie and he wondered if the lawyer deliberately picked this spot to fuck with them or if it was just a stroke of bad luck.</p>
<p>“Now, I gotta keep a date. Might be the only date I have to where I can walk away happy.”</p>
<p>Chase had the gall to look genuinely happy but it never reached his eyes. Only his grin widened, akin to a Cheshire cat, and Eddie pulled at his wrists, exhaling heavily as his attempt resulted in a sharp burn that lanced up his arms and into his chest. </p>
<p>The lawyer got up from where he was leaning against the table and promptly exited out of the room, leaving Eddie behind with two men to guard him.</p>
<p>If Eddie wasn’t so wracked by pain and dehydration, he would have figured out a way to get himself out of this situation. The chair was old and barely holding his weight. </p>
<p>The support beams on the back was giving way, weakened by the constant use of his body being used as a punching bag and subsequently falling to the floor at times.</p>
<p>Instead, all of his energies funneled into simply breathing without shuddering, a feat almost impossible given how with each breath his ribs seemed to creak and burn. </p>
<p>The two men guarding him had blank expressions but something flickered on the guard’s face. </p>
<p>“Escuché que el jefe perdió al chico,” the guard on the right said, his words thickened by the Colombian accent.</p>
<p>“Si. La única razón por la que este idiota sigue vivo es porque el jefe lo necesita para conseguir su dinero,” the left guard replied.</p>
<p>“Follando con Hernandez. Siempre ansioso por chupar la polla de un policía y derramarlo,” the right guard shifted and he sighed heavily, as if guarding a prisoner was boring as hell. “Aún así, no puedo creer que ese abogado quisiera hacerle eso a un niño roto. Vergonzoso.”</p>
<p>“Ssshh,” the left one hissed and Eddie wondered why. </p>
<p>Then, something moved on the screen. </p>
<p>A tall man appeared, walking from the long walkway and stopping at the ‘T’ of the pier. It was too dark to see the newcomer’s face but Eddie would recognize that giant of a man anywhere. </p>
<p>The broad shoulders. The hands that were currently clenching at the handles of the suitcases he was carrying. </p>
<p>His heart leapt into his throat when Chase greeted his visitor so cheerfully, with his goons’ guns trained on Buck. Even if Buck had SEAL training, there was no way he would come out of this fight unscathed. </p>
<p>The color of the screen was perfect and Eddie would have admired the 1080p resolution on any other day except today. </p>
<p>He would have marveled at how the white undershirt contrasted beautifully with the blue shirt. The way his jeans sat low on his hips, teasing at the possibility of seeing more if the shirt was rucked up a little more.</p>
<p>But the admiration stopped there. </p>
<p>When Chase muttered something to someone nearby, Eddie’s wrists pulled again at the sight of Buck being patted down for a weapon or maybe even a wire.</p>
<p>Christ. This lawyer was smart and covered all his bases. </p>
<p>Please. Please. Don’t. </p>
<p>Eddie's mind unraveled at the uneasy conversation that flowed between them, as if the two men were just having a friendly altercation in the middle of a club instead of out there. At the Pier, in the middle of the night. </p>
<p>His arms jerked at the sight of Buck being roughly pushed down to his knees, of those gentle hands being tied together with handcuffs.</p>
<p>A name slipped past his trembling lips at the snap of a knee crashing against the soft stomach. </p>
<p>Eddie screamed when the goons started beating up on Buck, the sounds coming out from the duct tape muffled. He jerked his arms, praying to God, to anyone to give him the strength to break these bonds and let him escape. </p>
<p>The only answer he got was a sickening crunch of a fist meeting his cheek.</p>
<p>Anger welled up within him, fueled by the need to be there for Buck, to find Christopher. </p>
<p>And it withered as quickly as a candle being snuffed out. </p>
<p>A sound that broke the awful sounds of thugs beating down on Buck cracked in the feed. </p>
<p>All Eddie could see was Buck falling in front of Chase, as if the blonde man was bowing out of deference to his kidnapper. </p>
<p>No! Get up! Get up!</p>
<p>Eddie was so focused on the crimson stain that bloomed in the center of Buck’s torso that he failed to notice the way the camera shook. Or the sudden lack of thugs that guarded Chase.</p>
<p>All he saw was the agony plainly seen on that handsome face. The way those blue eyes were wet with emotion. </p>
<p>If Eddie hadn’t known better, he could have sworn that Buck knew he was a hapless witness to all this.</p>
<p>“It was never about the money,” Chase’s voice rang out angrily and Eddie’s heart stopped.</p>
<p>He screamed out Buck’s name as he watched Buck being pushed backward and over the edge of the pier, down into the dark waters below.</p>
<p>He thrashed against his bonds, ignoring the sting of the zip tie cutting into his wrists.</p>
<p>A fist lashed out and smashed into his temple, causing shards of fire to burst and blanket his senses with pain. He fell back with a hapless groan, eyes squeezed shut as he tried to breathe in and focus on reducing the pain. The sound of a gun getting cocked made him open his eyes and he watched as the man aimed his weapon at him.</p>
<p>From here, hands bound behind his back and on the ground, Eddie knew there was no escaping this one. The thug was far away enough to be out of range of Eddie’s legs and Eddie wanted to curse. He wanted to scream but all that got out was a muffled ‘ffkng bsstrd.’ </p>
<p>“Nothing personal,” the young man said and fear tightened Eddie’s gut. </p>
<p>Eddie had no fear of guns. The military trained that out of him with basic training and two tours in Afghanistan. What he feared was leaving Chris behind, now alone and missing two parents. But while the fear ran like quicksilver through his veins, he wouldn’t give the man the satisfaction. </p>
<p>Instead, he just stared numbly into the black barrel and waited for Death.</p>
<p>A shot thundered in the cold air of December and Eddie shut his eyes, even though he desperately wanted to see Death in the face. To look at it head-on and without fear. Death came. But not for him. It came for the sleazebag holding the gun. Violently and mercilessly. </p>
<p>Eddie’s would-be killer seemed a little stunned at being dead. Blank eyes stared at Eddie for a few seconds before rolling upwards, the white showing in the sockets. </p>
<p>Thick streams of blood dripped down from a small, neat hole in the middle of the forehead.</p>
<p>“Damn, I hate using guns.” The voice was rough and gravelly as if the newcomer had a cold. The dead body fell forward and Eddie watched as the shooter stepped forward, in even steps, into the sickly yellow light of where he was laying. </p>
<p>His rescuer looked like Death – muscular and lean, all clad in black clothes. Dark hair came down to his shoulders in thick, wet strands, making the man look more akin to a beast.</p>
<p>The other goon was so taken aback by the visitor that it took him a minute to gather their wits and start shooting at him.</p>
<p>Eddie watched with a sick fascination as the man threw a knife at the nearest enemy. The second goon let out a quiet gurgle before falling to the side and landing on the ground in an undignified position and with a soft thump. </p>
<p>“Smooth Dog,” the dark-haired man said and at first Eddie thought he was talking to him. </p>
<p>Was the man mocking him or something? The duct tape was still stuck on his lips and the man continued talking to him. </p>
<p>“Yeah, I’ve got the package. What’s the status of our baby SEAL?”</p>
<p>The brunette ducked behind Eddie and Eddie moaned in relief when the zip tie was cut, freeing his hands. </p>
<p>He reached out to the end of the duct tape and, knowing that it was going to hurt like a bitch either way, ripped off the sticky material. His cheeks stung, like fire ants stinging him there in a straight line. It took a minute or two for the sting to go away and Eddie was finally able to talk. </p>
<p>“Buck?! Where’s Buck?”</p>
<p>The brunette’s eyes hardened at the mention of the name and his stomach grew queasy at the uneasy feeling Eddie got. </p>
<p>“Smooth Dog’s got him. We need to move now,” was all the man said before grabbing his arm and helping him stand on his feet. The sudden difference in elevation had Eddie’s head swim a bit and he staggered, almost stumbling into the man’s sweaty form.</p>
<p>“Hey, you good?” His rescuer’s hands clamped down on his shoulders and the firm grip helped Eddie right himself. He nodded in question, not trusting himself to talk. “C’mon. We need to go now. I’m sure your son will want to see you.”</p>
<p>“But Buck? What about Buck? I-I-I need to see him.”</p>
<p>Eddie knew he was rambling. He knew he was being useless but the last image of Buck was his body falling backward, into the cold dark waters.</p>
<p>“Look,” the rescuer’s voice got firm and low. It caught his attention, at least enough to stare into hardened brown eyes. “He’ll be ok. He’s alive. Chris is alive and uninjured. The only way they stay that way is for us to move. Now, can you walk?”</p>
<p>Of course, as the guy asked him that, he pulled him up quickly. The sudden shift in elevation caused everything to tilt, including his sense of balance. Eddie attempted to stand on his two feet but his vision wavered and he felt like he had jelly for legs, not bone and muscle.</p>
<p>“Fuck it,” his rescuer cursed and, the world tilted again as he flopped rather unceremoniously over the guy’s shoulder. Nausea threatened to rise, from the bottom of his stomach to his mouth. God, he felt so sick.</p>
<p>He tried to close his eyes and hoped the sickening sensation will go away but not seeing anything made it worse. </p>
<p>Before Eddie could say anything, the man moved and Eddie’s eyes slipped shut, letting the steady cadence of the man’s run lull him into a pain-free sleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Translation:<br/>Escuché que el jefe perdió al chico - Heard the boss lost the boy</p>
<p>Si. La única razón por la que este idiota sigue vivo es porque el jefe lo necesita para conseguir su dinero - Yes. The only reason this jerk is still alive is because the boss needs him to get his money</p>
<p>Follando con Hernandez. Siempre ansioso por chupar la polla de un policía y derramarlo - Fucking Hernandez. Always eager to suck a cop's dick and spill it</p>
<p>Aún así, no puedo creer que ese abogado quisiera hacerle eso a un niño roto. Vergonzoso - Still, I can't believe that lawyer wanted to do that to a broken child. Shameful</p>
<p>I am proud to use Google Translate for the above phrases. </p>
<p>So, any thoughts, predictions, plot holes?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Buck</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Only easy day was yesterday...</p>
<p>Fuck that saying is what Buck thinks as he stares down at the one person who took his whole world away and expected a handout.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ugh this month was hard, guys and gals.<br/>My writing muse took a vacation and I had to tend to real life matters. </p>
<p>So here's the new update and we're almost at the end! Almost there!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“No, that’s not going to work and you know it.” Steve’s voice was harsh and Buck couldn’t help but argue again, having so easily fallen into the routine of ‘disagreeing’ with his old CO.</p>
<p>“Damn it, we know where he’s keeping them. We need to get to them before it’s too late,” Buck fumed and he paced angrily as Steve stayed motionless, with his arms crossed over his chest and a disapproving scowl on that stupid long face.</p>
<p>How could Steve take this so nonchalantly? How could he just fucking stand there when his whole world was out there, by the Pier, getting the crap beaten out of them?</p>
<p>Well, Chris was untouched but the trauma was gonna stick. More so than the tsunami.</p>
<p>That ordeal left Chris reeling from nightmares for months and Buck wasn’t even there for the first terrible month.</p>
<p>Because you were selfish.</p>
<p>No, no, no. He just wanted to get back to his family, to saving people again.<br/>And you abandoned Chris to his nightmares. Left Eddie to deal with a traumatized kid by himself.</p>
<p>“Look, Buck,” Eliot’s tone was more supportive and a burly arm reached out to him, grasping him on the shoulder tightly. “The note said what it said. Bring $7 million in cash.”</p>
<p>Eliot didn’t say the last half of the note but he didn’t have to.</p>
<p>“We need to stick to the plan,” Steve voiced his opinion again, firm and not budging an inch. “I’ll rescue Chris with Danny on radio silence and following in behind while Eliot here will get Eddie.”</p>
<p>“And me?”</p>
<p>“You’ll give Chase exactly what he wants.”</p>
<p>Several hours later, Buck offered himself to Chase, along with two suitcases filled to the grim with “cash.” It was deliberately counterfeit bills but, for all intents and purposes, the money appeared real and weighed the same as well.</p>
<p>Chase hadn’t bothered to even look at the suitcases when he arrived at the Santa Monica at midnight. It was a hunch that Alec played with and that fucking terrified Buck. A hacker who knew a person’s habits and traits just be looking at their past ‘data.’</p>
<p>Instead, the sleazy lawyer ordered his thugs to pat Buck down, seeking out a wiretap and weapons.</p>
<p>Fuck that. Buck didn’t need a gun to put these lackeys out of their misery.</p>
<p>When I dropped out of the SEALs program, it wasn’t because I couldn’t do the physical training. They wanted me to become a machine and shut down what makes me me.</p>
<p>It wasn’t a total lie to Bobby that day when he got fired for having sex while on duty. Not the smartest move, Buckley.</p>
<p>He held out in the SEALs because he could shut down the emotions without hesitation. It sickened him but he had to stay and pursue this. To prove his parents wrong.</p>
<p>And the SEALs taught him how to take a beating. How to crouch down and protect the vital areas like his chest and kidneys. It also taught him how to fight in handcuffs, which Chase all too happily had a ‘The Rock’ wannabe place them on him.</p>
<p>Pain was an old friend of his and Buck used the adrenaline to drive away his fear, his worry for Eddie and Christopher into the back of his mind.</p>
<p>An agonized kick to the left side of his torso sharpened his focus on the suited figure standing stupidly close to him, a mere few feet away.</p>
<p>The seven lackeys he hired weren’t going to protect Chase.</p>
<p>And he proved it by faking to go down on his knees, to release pained moans and grunts. They were truly sounds of pain but Buck played them out to Chase’s desires. An awful arrogant smile widened on that pale face, as if the lawyer was actually garnering pleasure from a man getting beat down by a bunch of thugs.</p>
<p>A twinge of regret went through Buck’s conscience. He really hated having gone to this douchebag and this was the universe playing with him, even if Eddie had forgiven him and their relationship was stronger than ever.</p>
<p>“Too bad you’re too late for Eddie,” Chase cajoled him but the confidence waned at Buck taking an arm and breaking the elbow joint.</p>
<p>Guess the bigger they are, the louder they scream.</p>
<p>Whatever words Chase wanted to say, they were blocked out by loud screaming and deep grunts. By the sounds of bodies hitting the wooden floor. Solid thudding sounds followed by pained groans and sickly gurgles as his downed opponents attempted to breathe with broken ribs hindering their efforts.</p>
<p>But he should have anticipated the cowardliness of Chase. He should have seen the shiny glint of light reflecting off the barrel of a gun that was now aimed at him.</p>
<p>“It was never about the money,” were Chase’s final words before an ominous bang cracked through the cool night air.</p>
<p>Thunder roared in his eardrums and Buck felt as if someone stabbed him with a hot poker and twisted it.</p>
<p>The sudden presence of fucking agony took his breath away and he gasped as his knees hit the wooden planks that made up the walkway of the pier.</p>
<p>Dulled blue eyes stared in a glassy manner at the shiny black loafers that appeared in his line of sight.</p>
<p>Get up, get up, get up! Don’t let this bastard win!</p>
<p>Buck gritted his teeth and he stood on shaky legs, glaring defiantly at the man who dared laid a hand on his family.</p>
<p>Chase grimaced, probably not liking at how blood just seemed to gush out of him like a water fountain – plentiful and unstoppable.</p>
<p>The lawyer’s hand pushed at him, right on his wound, and Buck gritted his teeth, bravely not voicing out the agony that the contact resulted in.</p>
<p>“If you had just done the right thing, Mr. Buckley,” Chase hissed in his ear, a soft hand pressing hard against his wound. “None of this would have happened. But now, two lives are lost because of you.”</p>
<p>“F-fuck you,” Buck growled at him and Chase blinked at him, as if the offer had poleaxed him into a daze.</p>
<p>Buck made to step back but the railway of the pier bit into his back, causing the damp shirt to bunch up in a slick mess. He cursed at the realization that the stupid lawyer cornered him and then, with sudden clarity, noticed that the lawyer was pretty much standing right next to him.</p>
<p>It would be so easy to reach out and wrap the metal links of his handcuffs around that vulnerable area underneath the chin. It’d so simple to strangle the life out of Chase, even as severely wounded as he was. It wouldn’t be the first time he had to do it. </p>
<p>
  <em>Buck, I know this man did you wrong on so many levels. But revenge isn’t the right way here. The only card to play is bringing him to the police and we’ll take it from there.</em>
</p>
<p>Except the lawyer has money. Money that could be used to buy off witnesses or get himself a damn good lawyer.</p>
<p>However, Athena’s voice still repeated itself, grounding him to the right side of justice and Buck sighed almost in defeat.</p>
<p>The sigh must have been heard because that’s when Chase smirked at him, as if the bastard perceived he’d been defeated.</p>
<p>“Well, you’ll get to see them again, real soon,” Chase’s words cut through him, startling him out of his pain when the lawyer suddenly pushed on his shoulders. </p>
<p>That horrifying feeling of falling backwards when you know there’s nothing to catch you but pain caused Buck to release a breathless gasp of surprise.</p>
<p>Even as he started to fall, Buck realized two things – his hands were still in handcuffs and Chase was practically on top of him.</p>
<p>Knowing that Athena was not going to be happy with him, Buck figured that she can rant at his funeral.</p>
<p>His family won’t be safe till Chase is gone, permanently and with no chance of parole even on good behavior.</p>
<p>Within seconds of tipping backwards, Buck wrapped his hands around Chase’s neck and interlocked his fingers together. The movement took Chase by surprise, indicated by the wide blue eyes and the “oh fuck” expression on his ugly mug.</p>
<p>Thank fuck Chase’s cockiness caused the lawyer to put his gun on the floor as he ranted and monologued on how Buck was going to pay for his mistake for dropping the lawsuit.</p>
<p>Buck would have laughed at how quick Chase’s face paled but white-hot pain lanced throughout his chest and torso at that inglorious moment.</p>
<p>Instead, he settled for a bloody grimace and squeezed the cufflinks tighter as the pair of them fell off. He held on tightly, even as the lawyer thrashed in his grip with his two hands.</p>
<p>He held on even as the water slammed into his head and back, the sheer agony of the landing causing Buck’s eyes to roll up and his hands to slacken. </p>
<p>I’m sorry, Eddie… was the last thought before darkness overtook him, mercifully ending his agony. </p>
<p>-o0o-</p>
<p>“Babe, you ever gonna wake up sometime?”</p>
<p>His heart stopped at the sound of that voice. So achingly familiar and different at the same time. </p>
<p>It wasn’t Eddie’s usual timbre voice. No, this one was slightly higher-pitched but its tenor never failed to bring a pleasant shudder throughout his body. </p>
<p>A hand caressed along his cheekbone, the thumb rubbing gently along his lips. The hand was rough and had callouses from a daily handling of a weapon – gun, knife, whatever could be used to hurt someone.</p>
<p>“Miguel?”</p>
<p>There, lying next to him, was Miguel. His Navy SEAL partner for several years and his lover for just half of that. But the time spent with him felt at once too short and like forever.</p>
<p>“Been a while, Evan.” Miguel scotched closer to him, his body pressing warmly against and Buck gasped at how solid Miguel, how fucking real it seemed that he could touch him and have his lover push back. </p>
<p>“You always had a thing for hot Hispanic men,” Miguel teased him and Buck couldn’t stifle the laughter that bubbled forth from his lungs. “He’s pretty good-looking. And Army. You had a thing for military men too.”</p>
<p>“Only you. It was only ever you,” Buck insisted.</p>
<p>It was true for a while. </p>
<p>In the terrible lonely period between Miguel’s death and finding Eddie, Buck focused on women. He didn’t want to be involved with a man again. Not so soon after what happened in Mexico. After being responsible for his former lover’s death. </p>
<p>“Hey, how many times do I gotta tell ya?” Miguel’s soft brown eyes gazed back at him and it struck him just how similar Miguel and Eddie were. </p>
<p>Texan. Catholic upbringing. Miguel didn’t have a child of his own but he was pretty much a dedicated uncle to a cute nephew. A nephew who was nine when Miguel died.<br/>“Evan,” Miguel whispered to him, a loving smile etched on that handsome face. </p>
<p>Honeyed brown eyes gazed at him and it made Buck’s heart clench at how alive and soft looking they were. “It wasn’t your fault. It was never your fault. We just got separated and shit went to hell. That’s just the nature of our job. But this, this life you built for yourself in LA. It’s pretty amazing.”</p>
<p>“I was lonely without you,” Buck’s eyes watered up. Fuck, he was such a baby. Several years after Miguel and he was still tearing up as if his former lover died yesterday.</p>
<p>“Not anymore, Evan,” Miguel leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. “You’ve got a family now. Just like you always wanted. But they need you now. Eddie and Chris need you and it’s not your time yet. You just gotta wake up.”</p>
<p>-o0o-</p>
<p>“…’an! Don’t do this to me, c’mon!”</p>
<p>A familiar voice called out to him from afar and Buck’s eyes flew open as water gushed from his mouth. </p>
<p>Strong gloved hands rolled him over to his side and a finger wriggled its way into his mouth, flattening his tongue to clear out his airway.</p>
<p>“There we go, c’mon, easy breathing,” the person at his side whispered and Buck groaned as fire licked at his insides. If he focused enough on it, he could swear that he could feel blood dripping out from sides of his body and idly wondered if he was going to make it. </p>
<p>
  <em>Stomach wounds are tricky, Buckaroo. If you’re unlucky enough to get shot there, you better hope it’s in a nonvital area.</em>
</p>
<p>Why did his mind decide now, of all times, to remember a quick lecture from Chimney? Getting stuck underneath the fire truck didn’t bring up anything for Buck. Then again, he did have a concussion at that time and thoughts were not exactly there.</p>
<p>“…’an! Look at me, stay awake, ok?”</p>
<p>The sky was amazingly beautiful, with pale white stars dappling across it as if a young child just decided to toss out glow-in-the dark stars out into the world. It reminded him of Chris’ room – of how the nine-year old would giggle after Buck acted out all the animal constellations on his ceiling. </p>
<p>Oh God…Christopher…Eddie…</p>
<p>His cheeks got wet and Buck wondered if it was raining down on him. It would be appropriate after all.</p>
<p>Chase had his whole world in the palm of his hand, having Chris in a storage unit while Eddie was kept in a dinghy ass warehouse building that was used to store fish. </p>
<p>When he arrived at the meeting spot where Chase told him to be at or else, the only comforting thought that kept him from absolutely losing his shit was that Steve found Chris, unharmed but scared out of his wits. He just had to stick to the plan and stall Chase long enough for the police to arrive. He had to hope that Eliot would rescue Eddie before Chase returned to the warehouse he was kept in. </p>
<p>“’ck!! Buckaroo!” Another familiar voice, male and younger than the one who was kneeling next to him, called out and soon a different set of hands were on him. <br/>Gentle with intent but firm in the prodding and poking. </p>
<p>White light flashed in front of his eyes and Buck moaned, trying to wrench his gaze away from that awful light.</p>
<p>“Pupils slightly dilated. Possibly a mild concussion. Need to get that stomach looked at stat, Hen.” The voice was oddly familiar.</p>
<p>Buck peered at the second man hovering over him, blinking rather owlishly at Chimney and wondering how in the world his 118 family managed to get here so fast. Except there was one missing from the two-man paramedic team. </p>
<p>“…’is…Ed-Eddie…”</p>
<p>“Eddie is safe, he’s literally waiting for you in the ambulance,” Hen answered and Buck saw her grimace when she lifted his shirt up.</p>
<p>“…damn Buckaroo…” Chimney’s voice was light and airy, as if the man was injured himself and not Buck. “Just had to get shot in the stomach. Luckily, it’s a through and through…”</p>
<p>Whatever words Chimney had left to say were lost within a set of screams and Buck wanted so much to squirm away from the unrelenting shards of pain that lanced right through him. </p>
<p>“…wish we could give him a morphine shot,” Chimney mumbled. </p>
<p>Fuck, please! Anything to stop the pain.</p>
<p>“With that concussion…” Hen shook her head and she looked at him, a tight smile pulling at her full cheekbones.</p>
<p>Another voice murmured something nearby, the entire conversation sounding as if Buck were underwater again.</p>
<p>“…Chase…”</p>
<p>The name jolted him out of his pain-induced haze and Buck thrashed underneath him. </p>
<p>Chase. He could still be alive…he-he…</p>
<p>“Crap…if he doesn’t stop moving…Buck! Buck!”</p>
<p>“Hen…I’m…”</p>
<p>Suddenly, there was a sharp prick in his arm and a cold sensation flooded through him. </p>
<p>No…I need to…need-</p>
<p>And the world melted away and gone out of his control. </p>
<p>-o0o-</p>
<p> It’s always the smell of being in a hospital that would creep on Buck’s awareness first. The sharp tang of bleach and antiseptics. </p>
<p>Added to it was a heavy weight on his arm and Buck released a weak moan in protest. <br/>The heavy weight shifted and Buck sighed in relief, only to whimper at the loss of the warmth. His fingers twitched, seeking the source of it. </p>
<p>“…I’m here…” an achingly familiar voice called out to him and Buck sighed out Eddie’s name. He wanted to see his lover, to confirm that Eddie was alive and warm and here. </p>
<p>If it was real, it meant Eddie and Chris got out alive and safe. That Steve and Danny helped make it possible to keep his family together. </p>
<p>Buck would have opened his eyes but they felt like ship anchors – heavy and unwilling to move. </p>
<p>Fingers stroked along his cheek and carded through his hair. There was a quiet murmur, something in Spanish that Buck translated as ‘we’re here; sleep, my life.’<br/>Assured by both the voice and presence of Eddie, Buck’s body relaxed and he let the soft lilt of a Spanish lullaby take him down under. </p>
<p>-o0o-</p>
<p>The next time he came back, there were more voices in the room, murmuring softly amongst each other, and a telltale sound of Chris’ crutches. </p>
<p>The awful drag of exhaustion still weighed him down but he didn’t feel any pain. Just numbness and a little floaty. </p>
<p>Shit.</p>
<p>That means he was on the good stuff.</p>
<p>Which also means he was heavily injured for the medical professionals to administer it. </p>
<p>He hated being on morphine drips. Not because of the addictive characteristic. Instead, it was the numbness that drove him crazy. He’d rather feel the pain but getting shot in the stomach was not a cakewalk either. </p>
<p>“Buck?” A small hand pressed into his open palm. </p>
<p>Oh God.</p>
<p>Chris…</p>
<p>He must have whispered out the little boy’s name for Chris squirmed a bit, trying to make his limbs move into place without hurting Buck but not really succeeding. <br/>Someone made a sound of exasperation and carefully placed Chris next to his thighs. <br/>“…Dad…I think he’s awake…”</p>
<p>“Si, mijo. Try not to move too much. Buck’s hurt bad and his body’s still healing,” Eddie said and Buck couldn’t help but smile at how soft and endearing Eddie could be when talking to his son. </p>
<p>As he slowly opened his eyes and attempted to focus his vision, to at least keep the two figures of Eddie and Chris from doubling into four.</p>
<p>Chris’ eyes lit in pure joy and Eddie gazed at him, relief and concern warring behind the honeyed depths of those warm eyes. Eddie reached out to him and cupped his cheek in the palm of his hand. </p>
<p>“…E’die?...”</p>
<p>God. His voice sounded so raspy and scratchy, as if Buck was screaming his lungs out for a whole night.</p>
<p>A small cup was brought to his lips and gently tilted upwards to let several ice chips slide into his parched mouth and throat. The coldness felt so good and Buck wanted more but the cup went away before he could get some more. </p>
<p>“Easy there, carino,” Eddie’s voice was almost like a whisper – too quiet and melodic.</p>
<p>The low tone held a hypnotic lull to them and Buck fought against the sleepiness that threatened to pull him back down. “It’s been a week since they stitched you up but you still can’t drink too much.”</p>
<p>Wait, a week? How-?</p>
<p>Maddie, his freakin’ awesome big sister, leaned forward in her chair. Her hair was, for once, not straightened out and done up. Instead, it had all the appearance of being slept on for a few days without brushing. Was she here the entire time? What about work?</p>
<p>“You need to stop doing this, Evan,” Maddie said, her hand coming up and brushing off an errant lock of hair from his forehead. “It hasn’t even been three months since your last visit.”</p>
<p>“…I’m…I didn’t…” Buck couldn’t even get a full sentence in. The drugs, while it deadened the pain to a tolerable level, made him feel woozy and light-headed. <br/>But he was alive. Eddie and Chris were alive and looked none the worse given what the whole three of them underwent. </p>
<p>Suddenly, memories of Chase, of his Cheshire smile and cajoling insult came to him. He remembered how those cold eyes glared back at him, both in fright and anger at being denied his ultimate prize – a defeated Buck who would kneel at his feet.</p>
<p>“Chase? Is he?”</p>
<p>Buck hadn’t even realized he was sitting up and attempting to get out of bed until Eddie’s hands pressed against his shoulders and firmly pushed him down. Maddie had already moved Chris out of the way and Buck swore inwardly at how easily he forgot Chris was there, sitting rather precariously right next to him. </p>
<p>“Chase is gone,” Eddie had a tight smile on that handsome face. </p>
<p>“What? How?” All the while he was asking questions, Eddie settled him in his bed and pulled the covers up to his chest. It was rather cold in here and Buck let out a sigh of relief when the warmth of the covers seeped into his body. </p>
<p>“Apparently, your friend, Danny had a feeling of where he was heading to and caught him. He’s a pretty good detective. At least that’s what Athena said,” Maddie answered once Chris was comfortably seated next to her. Chris pouted and Buck smiled at his, no, Eddie’s little boy.</p>
<p>“Good,” Buck’s voice came out a little harder than he intended but the mere mention of the lawyer had put his stomach into tight knots. Chase had come so close to ruining his life that it made Buck’s paranoia come back. His eyes darted around his room, fully expecting his slippery adversary to come in and say ‘oh, joke’s over. This was all just a dream.”</p>
<p>But when all he saw were the concerned faces of those he loves, the panic subsided enough for him to relax a little bit into his bed. </p>
<p>Fuck he was so tired. But he didn’t want to go sleep. He didn’t want to miss out on the way Chris literally brightened up at him calling out Chris’ name. He wanted to keep seeing, touching Eddie in any way he could – a brush on his hand, a lingering glance at those soft honeyed eyes. </p>
<p>Sensing that he was sleepy, Eddie and Maddie started telling him what happened and Buck felt almost ashamed at how much he missed out on. </p>
<p>Chris was found by Steve just a couple of hours before Buck arrived at the Pier.</p>
<p>Chase’s thugs, either out of pity or sympathy for a disabled child, had taken off the duct tape that bound Chris to a chair but left the gag on the boy’s mouth. Thank God for security cameras. Otherwise, Steve might never have found him in time.</p>
<p>What held Buck’s attention the most was Eddie’s rescue. He had full faith in Eliot’s capability to pull off a sensitive mission such as this, where a life was at stake.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I was pretty out of it for the most part,” Eddie gave a low chuckle and then winced afterwards. Buck reached out to Eddie, fingers seeking where he hurt. His blue eyes widened at the healing shiner on Eddie’s eye. How did he miss that upon waking up? “But apparently someone rescued me and called 911. The 136 got there and Lena, for some reason, took the ambulance to you and not the nearest hospital. Apparently I got lucky and just got cracked ribs and some heavy bruises. You though,”</p>
<p>Eddie’s voice drifted off and for a minute Buck thought he had fallen asleep, except with his eyes open. Eddie’s eyes grew misty and, thank God Maddie had the sense to take Chris to the bathroom, to give them much needed privacy. </p>
<p>Eddie choked on a gasp and his eyes squeezed shut, as if he was reliving that nightmare all over again. Buck reached out to him with his hand and clasped it tightly, or at least as tightly as he could in his drugged state. </p>
<p>“I’m…I’m here, Eds,” Buck’s voice was raspy and hoarse from disuse.</p>
<p>“You…you fucking died, Evan.” Eddie hunched over him, mindful not to put pressure anywhere near Buck’s wound. “You died and all I could do was watch.”</p>
<p>“Well, whoever did CPR on me did an amazing job,” Buck laughed and then he groaned, his hand rubbing at his chest. “Or maybe too well.”</p>
<p>“Don’t fucking joke about this,” Eddie growled and there was an intensity in those usually soft brown eyes. If Buck wasn’t regaled to the bed, he’d be jumping Eddie’s bones right now. “You died twice – once with Steve, when he pulled you from the water and had to resuscitate you. Then in the fucking ambulance. Right fucking next to me.”</p>
<p>“Eddie, I-“</p>
<p>Words refused to come to Buck. Instead, they got stuck in his throat and Buck swallowed, trying to push down the awful lump further into his throat and chest.<br/>“It was a good thing Danny and Athena already arrested the asshole that did this. If I’d gotten a hold of him, he wouldn’t be able to walk for the rest of his life.”</p>
<p>Well, good to know that your boyfriend would get all feral and protective like this.</p>
<p>Except Eddie was hurt too. Eddie got fucking kidnapped and beaten because of Buck and his stupid lawsuit from a year ago. God, he really hoped the universe would stop screwing with him, not when he just found his place in life. </p>
<p>“It’s-“ Buck started to say but Eddie clamped a hand on his mouth, a fierce look on his face. </p>
<p>“No, don’t,” Eddie sighed and he released the hand, letting Buck take a shaky breath. “It wasn’t your fault. Nothing different we could have done to prevent Chase’s sick fantasy from playing out. Only thing we could have done was get out of it alive and put his ass in jail.”</p>
<p>“Eddie,” Buck breathed a little unsteadily and, jeezus, he could feel himself crying again. He took another breath and moaned in pain when it pulled at his stomach muscles. “I fucking love you,”</p>
<p>“Yo también te quiero, cariño,” Eddie whispered back at him and soft lips pressed against his own. </p>
<p>Fuck, he could have all this taken away and as Eddie pressed kisses again and again to let Buck know that he was alive, that they were all alive and safe, Buck couldn’t help but send a prayer to anyone who would listen. </p>
<p>Thank you. Thank you for keeping my family safe.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So all that angst...damn...I didn't expect that either.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Steve</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>
  <em> He will get the kid with Danny scouting out the pier. Dressed up as a tourist perhaps scouting out a business space at the pier, no one would think the wiser. Then, he would conveniently place a bug right where the meeting would take place, to get solid evidence against Chase. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Which was the reason why Buck had to drag out the conversation. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>And the reason for this whole current predicament they were in now.<br/></em>
</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So I had to do rl stuff and got swamped. </p><p>Thus, here is what I whipped up in my spare time!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It took Steve a total of 3.5 hours to complete his objective: find and rescue a nine-year old boy. </p><p>Danny took a special interest in the case, unsurprising there, because it was a fucking kidnapping and Steve knew that wouldn’t sit well with his partner.</p><p>Thus, he expected Danny to volunteer for the research part of the investigation. What he didn’t expect was how quickly he’d procured the information, in the name of a thug named Hernandez. </p><p>Who hoped that perhaps feigning ignorance of the English language would gave him some leeway into a lighter sentence. </p><p>Danny’s fists persuaded him otherwise, much to Sergeant Grant’s chagrin. Yet, she didn’t say anything. Just pursed her lips and that’s it. </p><p>Steve didn’t know much about Sergeant Grant except for what Buck told him.<br/>
But her mannerisms and thirty years on the police force indicated that she was a force to be reckoned with. </p><p>Thus, he liked her.</p><p>Until she tried to curtail his original plan, which was to pretty much smash through the warehouse where Eddie was kept while Danny got the kid. </p><p>
  <em>“You are not busting up public property in my jurisdiction. How about we do it this way?” </em>
</p><p>Her plan was actually pretty impressive:</p><p>He will get the kid with Danny scouting out the pier. Dressed up as a tourist perhaps scouting out a business space at the pier, no one would think the wiser. Then, he would conveniently place a bug right where the meeting would take place, to get solid evidence against Chase. </p><p>Which was the reason why Buck had to drag out the conversation. </p><p>And the reason for this whole current predicament they were in now.</p><p>“Yo uh, Eliot, Eliot,” Alec’s voice sounded panicky on the comm and that brought Steve up short in the middle of his conversation with Danny. “Your brother, he ain’t gonna make it.”</p><p>Steve tapped the comm and was well aware of Danny gazing at him in concern.<br/>
“What is it? What’s going on?”</p><p>“I don’t think Chase means to let Buck leave alive; one of you needs to get there. Like pronto.” A series of clacks echoed in the background and color drained from Steve’s face as shouts and screaming blasted through his comm. Fuck, he should have been with Buck. Should have let Danny take the wheel on this case.</p><p>“Give me the shortest route and leave an anonymous tip to Sergeant Grant,” was all Steve said before tapping the comm again.</p><p>“Ok, ok, you have that aneurysm face again,” Danny remarked. Despite the casual one-liner, his tone was serious and Steve nodded in confirmation.</p><p>“Buck’s in trouble. Call 911 and get an ambulance there, pronto. Call for Maddie and ensure the 118 gets the dispatch call.” All the while Steve was barking orders, he put on his tactical vest and dashed out of the police office, leaving behind a briefly stunned Danny. </p><p> As Steve hurried to his car, a rental Acura RX that was built for speed, all the possible scenarios raced through his mind.</p><p>Buck getting kidnapped.</p><p>Or maybe just shot right there, with Chase running off with his money.<br/>
The whole scenario was fucked up, no matter what Steve would end up seeing in the end. </p><p>
  <em>“…No! Miguel! Miguel!”</em>
</p><p>Quick snapshots of that failed mission, the one that took place a year before he stumbled into Hawaii and his future husband, flashed before him. </p><p>
  <em> Miguel coughed up blood, the crimson liquid dribbling out of his mouth and gushing out in plentiful amounts from a chest wound. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>They were miles away from the nearest checkpoint, their covers blown and only just now retreating under the cover of night. The severity of the chest wound made Miguel’s survival impossible and everyone knew it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Buck’s blue eyes gleamed brightly underneath the faint moonlight. Too bright to reflect that awful pain inside. Steve knew loss. He knew what it was like to lose someone you loved. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Seeing the person who he viewed as a little brother go through that…it just felt so surreal.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>What was worse was that Steve had to tell his unit to keep Buck quiet and the only way to do that was use an analog of chloroform. Something had told Steve to take some with him right before the mission. A gut feeling that he always listened to.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Buck fought them, of course. He fought like an animal that was trapped and had nowhere else to go. It was only because of Steve’s sheer amount of experience and the backing of two other SEALs in prime condition that they even managed to escape from the thick jungles of South America, with Buck’s limp body hanging between them. </em>
</p><p>Steve took a deep breath and, as he remembered Buck looking so defeated and lifeless in the aftermath, his foot slammed hard against the gas petal.</p><p>“Uh fuck, oh fuck,” Alec’s voice was now in full-panic mode and Steve’s heart pounded loudly in his ears. What the fuck now? What could possibly-</p><p>“Oh shit, Buck just got shot and threw himself and this asshat off the pier. You close, right? Tell me you’re close…”</p><p>Another series of furious clacking drummed in his earpiece. Then silence. Dead silence. </p><p>What the fuck is going on?!</p><p>“Ok, I left an anonymous tip with a Sergeant Grant. She’s literally just around the corner. Maybe she was waiting for somethin’ to happen…”</p><p>As much as he admired Sergeant Grant, she would be better off catching the perp than saving a bound, 6 foot 2 inches of muscle and bone.</p><p>He barely put the car into ‘park’ mode before rushing out of the vehicle and sprinting to the pier, uncaring if he put the cark in a handicapped spot or not. </p><p>What greeted him brought back memories of when Buck was a full-blown Navy SEAL – bodies thrown around, broken arms and legs strewn akimbo. </p><p>Buck took out seven thugs while handcuffed and he did it by himself, even after a few years of being in civilian life. A slight shudder ran through Steve as he can only imagine the violent potential of Buck if the latter had stayed in the Navy SEALs.<br/>
None of those thoughts now. </p><p>He had to find Buck. </p><p>Somehow. </p><p>In the dark with just the basic lights on from the pier to prevent boats from colliding into the walkway at high speeds. </p><p>Luckily, the moon was out and it was full. The pale moonlit showed itself on the waters and Steve clasped the railings. Eyes darted around the vicinity of where Buck and Chase could have fallen in. To an untrained eye, the slight ripples in the water would have been mistaken for the natural current. However, it was going towards him and, after ditching his Kevlar suit, he jumped in, knowing that every second was critical. </p><p>The cold bit through the clothing like sharp knives, easily cutting through the thick cloth. The murky depths didn’t help and it was only by sheer luck that, upon the initial reaching out, his hand pushed against something solid and inexplicably human.</p><p>Fingers grasped around a broad chest and he let out a silent ‘thank god!’ when he felt the cold handcuffs brush against his arm as he wrapped it around the chest. He stolidly ignored the slick crimson swirling around the man and hoped that he could get them both out of the cold water soon.</p><p>Buck was heavy enough sober and Steve groaned when he had to drag Buck’s limp body across the shoreline.</p><p>His back and thigh muscles protested under the strain of pulling a body that weighed more than 200 pounds. However, his body aches were the least of his worries when he noticed Buck’s pale face and still chest. </p><p>“No, no, no…” Steve whispered and he leaned down, placing his ears against Buck’s chest. </p><p>Fuck, not breathing and no pulse. </p><p>First, clear the airways.</p><p>Then chest compression and mouth-to-mouth breathing. </p><p>All SEALs were taught the basics of CPR and Steve’s years with SEALs dealt him fair shares of having been on both sides of CPR.</p><p>So, he knew the process. When to stop compressions and then to breath. </p><p>Even if the ribs were starting to give way underneath his hands, he knew to not stop till Buck was breathing.</p><p>When it seemed like forever but was just a handful of minutes, Buck’s eyes flew open and water bubbled out from his mouth. To ease the flow and prevent his former subordinate and brother from choking on the salty fluids, Steve quickly rolled him on his side. </p><p>What happened next seemed almost insignificant and he sagged back unto his knees, not caring that the sand and the cold were seeping into his skin. </p><p>All that mattered was getting Buck to this side of the living. He already lost one of his closest friends. He sure as hell didn’t want to lose the other.<br/>
-o0o-</p>
<h4>A week later<br/>
</h4><p>“Ugh,” Danny groaned, his eyes squeezed shut and his fingers clenching around the armrest and his own wrist.</p><p>Steve normally would make a joke about airsickness. Considering how Danny pretty much suffered through the first bout of air travel, for Steve’s sake, Steve just let his lips curl into a heart-warming smile. His fingers interwined with those of Danny, who relaxed almost immediately and returned the gesture with a sickly smile and squeezing his hand. </p><p>“Helluva a two weeks vacation huh?”</p><p>“Yeah, even for our honeymoon, we can’t seem to not find bad guys to chase together.”</p><p>“In  my defense, I wasn’t looking for bad guys. I wasn’t bored enough back at home to find trouble in the great ‘ole USA.” Danny quipped right back, rolling his eyes at Steve. </p><p>Steve chuckled and wrapped an arm around the smaller man’s shoulders, relishing in the warmth and how Danny leaned into it. He could smell the sandalwood shampoo his lover used earlier in the morning and got a sharp jab in the ribs for it. </p><p>“Ow!!”</p><p>“Stop sniffing me like a neanderthal,” Danny ribbed at him but the smile offset the comment, prompting Steve to kiss him on top of his head.</p><p>“Well,” Steve whispered quietly so no one else could hear them, “I’m your neanderthal at least.”</p><p>There was no response from Danny and Steve drew his head back, worried that he may have gone a little too far with his teasing. </p><p>When he did though, Danny leaned in closer, only to whisper in his ear, “always.”<br/>
Yup. He was glad he brought Danny over to the mainland. </p><p>He had an awesome week of sex and then got in touch with one of his best team mates that he ever had, barring his current Five-0 team. </p><p>As the plane flew upwards and upwards, Steve peered over Danny’s blonde hair and looked at the thinning clouds. </p><p>It sure was beautiful. The sun shone through the thin layer of the stratosphere and Steve sent out best wishes to Buck, hoping that he and his partner would stay relatively safe. </p><p>After all, Steve could always come back and rescue him again if need be. It’s what brothers do.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Just one last chapter, more like an epilogue really. </p><p>I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to all the readers, the commenters and everyone in between. </p><p>It's been a long ride and I hope to hear from you Buddie fans in my Sentinel AU of 9-1-1. It's gonna be awesome!!!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Kudos and comments are well-loved by me. </p><p>Feed the cookie monster pls!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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